Rwandan lawmakers back petition that favors more time in office for President Paul Kagame
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Rwandan lawmakers have voted in support of a petition seeking to remove presidential term limits from the country's constitution, which could extend President Paul Kagame's time in office.
Before voting Tuesday, the lawmakers deliberated on a national petition urging them to remove term limits so Kagame can run again when his current term expires in 2017. A parliamentary committee will now consider the proposal, and later it will be subjected to a national referendum.
Kagame became president in 2000 and had been the country's de facto leader since the end of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
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Kagame's government is credited with turning around Rwanda's economy in the years since the genocide, but critics say he is an authoritarian ruler who does not tolerate opposition.