According to Afrobarometer results from 34 African countries show that there is strong support for presidential term limits among citizens across almost all countries. With very few exceptions, large majorities of Africans support the idea of imposing a two-term limit on the exercise of presidential power.
Afrobarometer is an African-led, non-partisan survey research project that measures citizen attitudes on democracy and governance, the economy, civil society, and other topics.
In contrast to the findings of that Afro-Barometer survey, some Rwandan citizens are apparently pushing for the scrapping of Presidential limits in their country.
Rwanda’s parliament is expected to debate changing the country’s constitution in order to allow its strongman President Paul Kagame to stand for a third consecutive term in elections in 2017.
The debate is set to take place over the next two months. A total of two million people have handed signed petitions to the parliament asking for the constitution to be changed.
The announcement comes amid a wider controversy on the African continent over leaders changing constitutions in order to stay in office.
Last year Burkina Faso’s former president Blaise Compaore was chased out after trying to stay put, while Rwanda’s southern neighbour, Burundi, has been wracked by weeks of civil unrest and experienced a coup attempt over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s attempt to do the same.
