Xi Jinping can remain China’s president for life as Parliament abolishes term limit
The Great Hall of the People passed a constitutional amendment removing the clause that restricted the president’s tenure to two consecutive terms.
China’s Parliament on Sunday abolished the two-term limit to the presidential tenure, paving the way for President Xi Jinping to hold the post indefinitely. The constitutional amendment removed a clause that limited a president and vice president’s tenures to two five-year terms.
After the ruling Communist Party proposed amending the Constitution to remove the clause on February 25, there was little doubt that the Great Hall of the People, packed with loyal members, would reject it – 2,958 Parliament members voted in favour of the amendment, two voted against it and three abstained, according to Reuters.
With the constitutional limit, Xi would have had to give up the president’s office in 2023. But he now has a lifetime to push for his agenda of turning China into an economic and a military superpower.
