Paul Kagame

====Constitutional referendum, 2015====
{{main|2015 Rwandan constitutional referendum}}
As Kagame's second term progressed, he began to hint that he might seek to rewrite the term-limit clause of the Rwandan constitution, to allow him to run for a third term in the 2017 elections.{{sfn|Smith|2014}} Earlier in his presidency he had ruled it out,{{sfn|Smith|2014}} but in a 2014 speech at [[Tufts University]] in the United States, Kagame said that he did not know when he would leave office, and that it was up to the Rwandan people to decide.{{sfn|Smith|2014}} He told delegates "...let's wait and see what happens as we go. Whatever will happen, we'll have an explanation."{{sfn|Smith|2014}} The following year a protest occurred outside [[Parliament of Rwanda|parliament]],{{sfn|Laing|2015}} and a petition signed by 3.7&nbsp;million people—more than half of the electorate—was presented to lawmakers asking for Kagame to be allowed to stay in office.{{sfn|Agence France-Presse|2015}} The parliament responded by passing an amendment to the constitution in November 2015, with both the [[Chamber of Deputies of Rwanda|Chamber of Deputies]] and the [[Senate of Rwanda|Senate]] voting unanimously in favour.{{sfn|Al Jazeera (IV)|2015}} The motion passed kept the two-term limit in place, and also reduced the length of terms from 7 years to 5 years, but it made an explicit exception for Kagame, who would be permitted to run for a third 7-year term followed by two further 5-year terms, if he so desired.{{sfn|Al Jazeera (IV)|2015}} After the amendment was passed in parliament, a referendum was required for it to come into effect.{{sfn|Al Jazeera (IV)|2015}}

The referendum took place on 18 December 2015, with Rwandans overseas voting on 17 December.{{sfn|BBC News (XVIII)|2015}} The amendment was approved by the electorate, with 6.16&nbsp;million voters saying yes, approximately {{percentage|98|100|0|%=&nbsp;per&nbsp;cent}} of the votes.{{sfn|McVeigh|2015}} The electoral commission stated that the vote had been peaceful and orderly.{{sfn|McVeigh|2015}} The [[Democratic Green Party of Rwanda|Democratic Green Party]], the most prominent domestic group opposing the change, protested that it had not been permitted to campaign openly against the amendment.{{sfn|McVeigh|2015}} Human Rights Watch executive director [[Ken Roth]] announced on [[Twitter]] that he did not believe the election to be free and fair, saying there was "no suspense in Rwanda referendum when so many dissidents silenced, civil society stifled".{{sfn|McVeigh|2015}} The amendment itself was criticised by the [[European Union]] and also the United States, which released a statement saying that Kagame should respect the previous term limits and "foster a new generation of leaders in Rwanda".{{sfn|McVeigh|2015}} Kagame responded that it was not his own decision to seek a third term, but that the parliament and the people had demanded it.{{sfn|McVeigh|2015}}