A constitutional referendum was held in
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
on 18 December 2015. Rwandans living abroad voted on 17 December.
[Paul Kagame's third term: Rwanda referendum on 18 December]
BBC News, 9 December 2015 The amendments to the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
would allow President
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...
to run for a third term in office in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, as well as shortening presidential terms from seven to five years, although the latter change would not come into effect until 2024.
[ They were approved by around 98% of voters.
]
Background
A petition calling for Article 101 of the constitution (which imposes presidential term limits) to be amended gained over 3.7 million signatures, equivalent to over 60% of registered voters in Rwanda. The constitutional amendments were approved by the Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in November 2015.[ If passed, they would allow Kagame to stand for a further two terms in office after 2024,][ potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2034.][ The opposition Democratic Green Party attempted to block the changes, but saw their bid to do so rejected in court.Rwanda president to decide on third term after referendum]
Reuters, 7 December 2015 The European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
criticised the proposals, saying that it "undermines democratic principles". In response, Kagame criticised other countries for interfering in domestic affairs.[Rwanda to hold referendum on Kagame third term on December 17]
Daily Nation, 9 December 2015
Results
References
{{Rwandan elections
2015 referendums
2015 in Rwanda
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
Constitutional referendums