Uganda MPs scrap presidential age limit
Kampala 21 Dec (ANA) - Uganda's parliament has approved a constitutional change that will allow the current president to run for an unprecedented sixth term in office. After three days of debate, MPs voted overwhelmingly to remove the age limit of 75 for presidential candidates. It means 73-year-old President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled for more than 30 years, can seek re-election in 2021. A two-term limit was scrapped in 2005 to allow Mr Museveni to stand for a third term. But that limit has been reinstated following criticism that Mr Museveni could now become president for life. His supporters argue that Ugandans can always vote him out of power. Opposition MPs walked out of the debate on more than one occasion, and six were suspended for protesting against the bill.
The constitutional amendment, which was spearheaded by Mr Museveni's governing National Resistance Movement (NRM), was presented to MPs in September and led to chaotic scenes in parliament.(ANA)
FA/ANA/21 December 2017-------