If all goes according to plan, the long-awaited referendum on the constitutional amendments, including the modification of presidential term limit, could be decided this week.
If all goes according to plan, the long-awaited referendum on the constitutional amendments, including the modification of presidential term limit, could be decided this week.
This was revealed, yesterday, during a meeting called by the Political Bureau of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) to drum up support for the suffrage and convince the President, who is also the Chairman of the RPF, to run again.
The meeting called on the President to hold the referendum proposing it be held not later than December 18.Although President Kagame agreed to the referendum to take place at a date to be determined, he added that he will announce his position following the results of the referendum.
Speaking to more than 2,000 members of the RPF, President Kagame began by addressing the key goals of change, continuity and stability.
"Change cannot take place to create instability, it must sustain stability.”
"Continuity is not about individuals, it is about continuity of progress,” Kagame added.
Weighing in on the debate on peaceful transition of power, Kagame questioned the notion of a contradiction between good governance and socio-economic transformation.
"Peaceful transfer of power cannot be the beginning and end onto itself. It depends on the stability you have created and being able to identify and understand who you are,” Kagame said, adding that achieving socio-economic transformation and good governance are complementary and cannot happen at the expense of one another.
President Kagame challenged RPF members to ask themselves why lack of economic prosperity is not subject to criticism.
"Why don’t people ask you why your country isn’t as rich as theirs? Why doesn’t the slow economic progress become a source of criticism? Because the fact that this is a work in progress is a convenient reality. They are happy to keep feeding you and keep you under pressure and answerable to them about their definition of democracy.”
Emphasising the importance of self determination, Kagame pointed to citizens’ constitutional right to determine their future.
"The Constitution says that people should have self-determination, they should have the right to make own choices but our processes become defined as parliamentary maneuverings when our actions do not correspond the wishes of other nations.”
"Rwanda should not be expected to be the mirror image of anyone else but the wishes of what Rwandans want.
Every nation, including those who insist on looking down upon us, have had to make choices Rwanda is making today.”
"The first thing we need is ownership, we must own the course of our lives. This does not mean you won’t entertain inputs. Ownership comes with serious responsibility. We must strive to do the right thing, to hold ourselves and each other accountable,” Kagame added.
"Whatever the outcome of the referendum we should be able to take full responsibility for ourselves and hold ourselves to account as we go forward towards the future we want and deserve.”
"The future does not depend on one individual or another. The future should depend on all of us, Kagame being here or not here,” Kagame observed.
Earlier this year, nearly four million Rwandans petitioned Parliament to amend Article 101 regarding presidential term limits, and, if possible, allow President Kagame – whose two seven-year terms end in 2017 – to run again.
The new draft constitution stipulates that after a transitional period of seven years, subsequent presidential terms will be reduced to five years each renewable once.
The draft constitution also proposes a change in term limits for Senators, Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice from the current eight years non-renewable to two five-year terms.
editorial@newtimes.co.rw
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