The US on Saturday hit out at Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s intention to run for a third term, saying it was “deeply disappointed” and concerned by the move. Washington and the EU have consistently expressed strong opposition to Kagame, once a darling of the West, running again, and had called on him to step aside in 2017 to allow new faces to emerge and democracy to flourish.
“With this decision, President Kagame ignores a historic opportunity to reinforce and solidify the democratic institutions the Rwandan people have for more than 20 years labored so hard to establish,” US Department of State spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Kagame on Friday said he would run again in line with a constitutional amendment that won overwhelming backing in a referendum.
The Dec. 18 referendum saw voters massively approve constitutional amendments allowing Kagame, 58, to run for an exceptional third seven-year term in 2017.
Thereafter, new rules are to come into force enabling him to run for a further two five-year terms through to 2034, cementing his hold on a nation he has effectively controlled since his rebel force ended the 1994 genocide, which left 800,000 dead. Opponents and some international observers say Kagame has effectively stifled democracy in the nation of 10 million.
“The United States believes constitutional transitions of power are essential for strong democracies and that efforts by incumbents to change rules to stay in power weaken democratic institutions,” Kirby said.
“We are particularly concerned by changes that favor one individual over the principle of democratic transitions,” he added.
Kirby called on Rwanda to respect the right to freedom of expression and to protest; “the hallmarks of true democracies.”
Kagame was elected with about 90 percent of ballots cast both in 2003 and 2010 and he had said that the outcome of the referendum would determine whether he continued in office.
“You have asked me to lead the country after 2017. Given the importance you ascribe to this matter, I can only accept,” he said in a televised New Year address.
“You clearly expressed your choices for the future of our country. The process allowed us the time to make certain that the proposed changes had merit and wisdom,” said Kagame, who described national unity as “unshakably strong.”
The referendum followed more than 60 percent of voters signing a petition calling for the drafting of constitutional changes that would allow Kagame to stand again.
Both houses of parliament are dominated by his Rwandan Patriotic Front.
His supporters maintain that Kagame, an English speaker from the Tutsi ethnic group targeted in the genocide by Hutu majority extremists, is not an autocratic figure, but a beacon of stability who has overseen economic growth.
Several African states have recently lifted or tried to lift constitutional bars to multiple presidential mandates.
Such was the case in neighboring Burundi, which descended into bloodshed in April when Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his intention to run for a controversial third term in a July election that he went on to win.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS