Mauritania’s opposition denounced the government Saturday after it said that lifting the two-term limit on the president would be part of ongoing talks about constitutional changes, a move they say would favor the incumbent leader.
“The question of the presidential mandate is indeed on the agenda” of the national dialogue launched on Sept. 29, said government spokesman Mohamed Lemine Ould Cheikh, in comments released late Friday.
“There is no limit on subjects to bring up” in the talks, which have been extended to October 13, he added.
The opposition parties which are boycotting the talks say that such a move could see President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz run for a third term,.
“(It is) a coup d’etat against the constitution” which could have “very serious consequences for the country,” the opposition coalition said in a statement.
The opposition groups participating in the talks in west African nation threatened to withdraw from the dialogue over the issue.
“These positions, coming from a top official of the state, are considered a provocation for the political forces engaged in the dialogue and threaten the continuing of the conference,” said the spokesman for the National Democratic Alliance (ANP), Babab Ould Beyoug.
Following months of denials that he would seek a third term, Aziz — whose second term comes to an end in 2019 — said last week that constitutional changes would be put to a referendum.
Many African countries have recently moved to overturn presidential term limits, sometimes triggering violent protests.
Burundi descended into chaos in 2015 after President Pierre Nkurunziza stood in elections for a third term.
In the Republic of Congo, President Denis Sassou Nguesso pushed through plans to change the law and give himself another term in office this year, while Rwandan President Paul Kagame is expected to extend his rule after citizens voted to scrap a two-term limit.
Meanwhile in the Democratic Republic of Congo, anti-government protesters continue to rail against a scheme by President Joseph Kabila that critics say is aimed at extending his stay in power into a third term.

Source: Arab News