Ugandan leader signs bill removing presidential age limit
By Associated Press | Published: 02nd January 2018 08:10 PM |
Last Updated: 02nd January 2018 08:10 PM | A+A A- |
FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016 file photo, Uganda's long-time President Yoweri Museveni waves to supporters from the sunroof of his vehicle as he arrives for an election rally at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala, Uganda. | AP
KAMPALA: Ugandan media report that President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law a bill that removes a presidential age limit from the constitution and allows him to run for election again.
Museveni is 73 and would have been ineligible to run in 2021. Now he could rule until 2031.
Critics in the East African nation saw the bill as an attempt by the president to rule until the grave. The age limit had prevented anyone younger than 35 or older than 75 from holding the presidency.
Museveni, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders and a U.S. ally, took power by force in 1986.
He is the latest in a number of African leaders who have tried to prolong their time in office by changing the constitution or other means.
