By Robert Mugabe and agencies
KIGALI — Rwandan President Paul Kagame, fresh from his re-election in August, says he has no intention of altering the country's constitution so he can seek a third term in office.
President Kagame was quoted by AFP as saying that he has no need for a new mandate. What he needs and what his government need is to continue on the path of development. He told his former senior officials in his government speech on Saturday.
"Those who seek a third term seek a fourth and then a fifth term," added Kagame in his address, two months after a resounding election victory.
Although he is embarking on a second term in office, Kagame has effectively governed Rwanda since his rebel force ended the country's 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. He took part in the first post-genocide government as vice president and defence minister.
Having been elected president by parliament in 2000, he won presidential elections in 2003, before cruising to a second term in August.
Kagame said it would be a mark of failure if he did not find a suitable replacement before the end of his mandate expires in seven years' time. Under Rwanda's constitution, a president can only serve two full terms.
"That (failing to find a successor) would be my failure and not yours. And it would not be a reason to seek a third mandate," he said.
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