CCM insiders move to extend Magufuli’s first term in office
A motion to extend President John Pombe Magufuli’s first term in office from five to seven years could soon be tabled in the Tanzanian Parliament.
This law amendment, according to the East African, is being fronted by Chemba MP Juma Nkamia, who is a member of President Magufuli’s ruling CCM party.
Should the legislator’s motion succeed, President Magufuli, who was elected into office in 2015, could stay in office until 2022 on his first term as opposed to the initial 2020.
A political showdown is however looming, with opposition’s Chadema MP John Heche planning to separately table in parliament a counter private motion to reduce the presidential term to four years, as is the case in the United States of America.
Already the debate has elicited varied reaction, with another MP Stephen Ngonyani suggesting that President Magufuli should rule for 20 years.
Another Magufuli supporter in the frame of the country’s former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, meanwhile opines that a law should be enacted to extend Magufuli’s term in office to 20 years.