Why Rwanda has pegged Kagame third term on referendum

Rwandans will between December 17-18 go to the polls to decide on whether president Paul Kagame should be allowed to stand for re-election. COURTESY PHOTO  

In less than a week, Rwandans will go to the polls. This will not necessarily be to elect a new leader, but rather decide on whether president Paul Kagame should be allowed to stand for re-election.

The referendum on December 17-18 follows amendments to the constitution that was promulgated on June 3, 2003, to remove a provision of a two seven-year term for a president.

The process leading up to this is a culmination of many events, both historical hallmarks and recent circumstances. It’s equally as interesting as is surprising in some cases.

President Kagame’s term in office expires in 2017 and there has been a chorus of calls from Rwandans that he stands again.
In June, when Daily Monitor put the question to president Kagame whether he was the one inciting the citizens to petition for his stay, he denied.

“I am not telling anyone to ask. If they asked a different thing that; ‘we loved you, you have done wonderful things, thank you but leave.’ I will respect that. Those who put in term limits in the constitution and change them after some time it’s because things change,” he said.

Therefore, it would appear then that the question is, after parliament amended the constitution in July to remove the term limits and the supreme court approved it, why would a referendum be a necessary addition to the process?

President Kagame has, since he took over power in Rwanda in 1995, maintained a stance of “Rwandans must take charge of their destiny”. He has spoken against “lectures” on governance and how to do things by Western powers.

Rarely does he end a speech without blaming some unnamed European countries for complicity in the mass killings that targeted minority Tutsi and moderate Hutus.

However, Rwanda and France once severed relations over the counter claims although they have since mended fences.

So the president’s disdain for some of the developed nations that usually breathe down the throats of African leaders is no secret. However, Mr Kagame appears not oblivious of how much influence such power blocs can have and how much support; either moral or in economic aid can be missed should they be rattled.

Consequently, while addressing the ruling party, Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) congress at Rusororo in Gasabo District on December 6, Mr Kagame, while maintaining his stance, did not slam the door to foreign voices. He explained:

“The reason we have to go through this long process is because we have to be sure our actions are founded in strong reasons and not based on sentiments,” Mr Kagame told the more than 2,500 delegates assembled in a giant marquee, his speech projected on four giant screens.

“To amend the constitution there must be weighty reasons (and) because the reasons have to be weighty, we had to go through this long process we started and we are still in… We should not give an impression that there was another way,” he explained.
“The other way is to carry on without a referendum but we have to think deeply… We want sustainable progress. If you want to achieve important things, you don’t rush. You have to plan. You don’t rush and meet circumstances that you were not prepared for.”

The president also took cognisant of the commentary in the international press, on social media and the pronouncements by some world leaders of how his choice to stand could blight his international star of “a new breed” and at worst set Rwanda on a path of violence.

“But you know these people from outside can also do their referendum. Politics and democracy are a package, with freedoms, human rights… These are things with ramifications but they should be carried out with a Rwanda-specificity. We are part of Africa and world. These are processes that govern society,” he told delegates eager to hear his “Yes” answer.