That plan to keep the president in power hit a wall, and they are pretending it is a strategy. The ruling party missed its own deadline late last year to publish constitutional amendments extending the presidential term. A party official now calls it a recalibration, not a delay. They still aim to push the change through parliament this year, avoiding a public referendum.
The justice minister had hinted that the draft would be gazetted before the new year. That did not happen. The goal remains to move the end of the current term from 2028 to 2030. This is despite the president calling himself a constitutionalist who would not overstay. A party commissar argued in court that the process is a parliamentary technical odyssey, not a political skirmish.
An activist filed a constitutional challenge against the extension resolution. He cited violations of his rights. Legal experts say such a term change actually requires a referendum. The party insists it can use its parliamentary supermajority instead. Internal divisions are growing over succession, with a vice president seen as the main contender.
Other figures, like a wealthy businessman and a party benefactor, are also lurking as potential successors. The whole situation reveals a frantic effort to manage a transition nobody will openly name. The official line is about doing things the right way with no rush. The reality looks more like a factional scramble wrapped in procedural excuses.
The justice minister had hinted that the draft would be gazetted before the new year. That did not happen. The goal remains to move the end of the current term from 2028 to 2030. This is despite the president calling himself a constitutionalist who would not overstay. A party commissar argued in court that the process is a parliamentary technical odyssey, not a political skirmish.
An activist filed a constitutional challenge against the extension resolution. He cited violations of his rights. Legal experts say such a term change actually requires a referendum. The party insists it can use its parliamentary supermajority instead. Internal divisions are growing over succession, with a vice president seen as the main contender.
Other figures, like a wealthy businessman and a party benefactor, are also lurking as potential successors. The whole situation reveals a frantic effort to manage a transition nobody will openly name. The official line is about doing things the right way with no rush. The reality looks more like a factional scramble wrapped in procedural excuses.
