(Ecofin Agency) - The Rwandan parliament gave, on 14^th July, its green light to keep in power president Paul Kagame after 2017, supporting a petition signed by about 4 million citizens demanding the removal of the restriction in presidential term limits set out by the Constitution.

The two chambers making up the parliament, both dominated by the Front Patriotique Rwandais (FPR), Mr Kagame’s party, unsurprisingly voted in favour of a constitutional reform. However more amendments will also have to be voted on, then a new Constitution will be formally subjected to a popular referendum. “I want to thank all the members of parliament for their support to the people’s wishes”, declared the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Donatilla Mukabalisa, after the votes.

The Rwandan Constitution limits to two the number of presidential terms and therefore prevents Paul Kagame, elected in 2003 and 2010, to seek a third term.

The debate around the constitutional reform was presented as arising solely from a grassroots movement.

In a few weeks, over 3.7 million Rwandans, out of an electorate of around 6 million, signed petitions requesting the Parliament to amend article 101 of the Constitution limiting to two the number of consecutive presidential terms. But the opposition and some observers have talked about manoeuvres from the power to allow Paul Kagame to cling to his seat in a country regularly nabbed for its infringements of freedom of expression.

A small faction of the opposition, the Parti Démocratique Vert as well as an individual have filed petitions to request that article 101 not be changed. These petitions have, however, very little chance of coming through.