China’s Parliament has approved the amendment to repeal the two five-year-term limits for presidency from the constitution paving way for President Xi Jinping to rule for life.
China’s Parliament on Sunday overwhelmingly endorsed the controversial amendement with a majority of 2,959 delegates of the National People’s Congress (NPC) voting in favour of the removal of the Presidential term limits out of the 2,964 votes cast, two delegates voting against the move and three abstaining.
The amendments’ passage required two thirds of the vote.
The passing of the amendment did not come as a surprise for many political observers in China since the ruling party enjoys a majority in the Parliament.
The amendment was proposed in February by China’s ruling Communist Party but critics have said the move is not only against the public interest but it also makes Xi politically vulnerable in the long run.
However, Xi Jinping, 64, and his party says the move seeks to align the presidency with the other posts like the Heads of the party and the military which by law have no term limits.
Back in the 1990s, China amended the constitution to impose a two-term cap on an incumbemt President as a safeguard to prevent a reoccurrence of a life-long leader like former Chinese President, Chairman Mao Zedong.