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| quote: | Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
Yeah, well, check out the most post-soviet republics. Each one states in its constitution that a president is limited to 2 5-year terms. Now, take the president from Uzbekistan for example (similar as to what happened in Byelorussia, Kazahstan, Turkmenistan, Ukrane...). During his first 5-year term, he first extended his term to last for 7 years by changing the constitution. That was in 4th year of his term, I think. Then he stated that the law says a president is allowed to have only 2 5-year terms, and since he is serving a 7-year term, he still has 2 more 5-year terms to go. Then he organized a referendum (on which he of course cheated) which gave him additional 2 years mandate, which expanded his term to 9 years. After that, he "fairly" won the elections for his "first" 5-year term. Now, he's planning a new referendum which will expand his presidency once again.
What I'm saying is that if a country is corrupt and it's law system is faulty, a president can easily manipulate it to stay in power for as long as he wishes. And if a country is organized and has a good legal system, the presiden't won't be able to cheat, regardless of how long he's been in power. |
But that's a defeatist look on things ... you might as well say abolish ALL checks and balances since inevitably they will only hinder the righteous presidents since the corrupt ones will always find a way to circumcede those checks and balances.
The process to repeal amendments is a long, arduous process that takes many, many months and possibly years to acomplish. I believe that the only way to modify the constitution is for a bill to pass in both the house and the senate and then it goes to the states where it must obtain 3/4 of the vote. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it just seems inconceivable that a corrupt president can manipulate so many people AND states in the way the system is set up.
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