Effort under way to allow Uganda president to rule for life

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011 file photo, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni campaigns in Uganda's capital Kampala. Officials with Uganda's ruling party want to remove the age limit on the presidency so long-time President Yoweri Museveni can run again, a spokesman said Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016. Museveni, who took power by force in this East African country in 1986, was re-elected in a disputed election in February. His current term expires in 2021. (AP Photo/File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this June 13, 2003 file photo, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni answers questions as he is interviewed by the Associated Press in Washington. Officials with Uganda's ruling party want to remove the age limit on the presidency so long-time President Yoweri Museveni can run again, a spokesman said Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016. Museveni, who took power by force in this East African country in 1986, was re-elected in a disputed election in February. His current term expires in 2021. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) (The Associated Press)

KAMPALA, Uganda – A presidential spokesman in Uganda says some ruling party officials want to remove the age limit on the presidency so long-time President Yoweri Museveni can run again.

Museveni, who took power by force in 1986, was re-elected in a disputed election in February. His current term expires in 2021.

Presidential spokesman Don Wanyama said Wednesday that a group of party officials recently presented a petition to Museveni calling for the age limit's removal.

Museveni, who turns 72 later this year, is constitutionally barred from running again but can seek re-election if lawmakers throw out the age clause.

In 2005, Museveni benefited from similar efforts by lawmakers who voted to remove term limits on the presidency.