Some officials in Uganda’s ruling party NRM (National Resistance Movement) are pushing for the removal of presidential age limit to allow President Yoweri Museveni to seek re-election when his current term ends in 2021, according to Seattle Times.
The party officials are said to have presented President Museveni with a petition asking parliament to amend the current presidential elections act, which bars anyone above 75 years from running for presidency.
“The party district conference sat and we passed a resolution calling for removal of the presidential age limit from the mandatory 75 years,” the chairperson of NRM in Kyankwanzi district Anne Maria said earlier last month.
With the current constitution, 72-year-old Museveni cannot run for another term in 2021.
President Museveni is currently ruling for his 5th consecutive term following a highly contested election in February this year.
The officials said the move is to enable capable leaders like President Museveni to continue serving the country.
Not the First Time
A trip down the memory lane reveals that it is not the first time Ugandan lawmakers have allied to extend the reign of long-standing president Museveni.
In 2005, the Ugandan parliament voted to remove the legal term limit on the presidency, arguing that President Museveni should be allowed to continue ruling because he remained the most popular candidate across the country.
Since then, consecutive presidential elections in Uganda have been marred by allegations of vote rigging and voter intimidation, with the main opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye being arrested and put under house arrest on numerous occasions before and after elections.
There has also been heightened crackdown on opposition supporters who have often voiced their displeasure with Museveni’s administration.
Many Ugandans accuse the government of rampant corruption, dictatorial tendencies and nepotism.
Just recently, President Museveni appointed his wife Janet as the Minister for Education and Sports and promoted his son Muhoozi to the position of the Major General in the Uganda People’s Defense Forces.
