China has confirmed proposals made last month to remove presidential term limits from its constitution, Reuters reports from the ongoing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, allowing incumbent President Xi Jinping to continue his premiership indefinitely.
There were only two “no votes” and three abstentions from a total 3,000 delegates participating in the vote.
The policy is part of a package of constitutional amendments that strengthen Xi’s position as head of the Communist Party, including the introduction of Xi’s own political theory into the constitution, something that has not been achieved by any other leader since Mao.
Chinese presidents were previously confined to two five-year terms, a limit written in by reformer Deng Xiaopeng in the years following Mao’s death, so as to avoid the dangers and excesses that can accompany one-man leadership.
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