Turkmenistan's president drafts new constitution that could let him serve for life

Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, left, and Wen Jiabao.
(Image credit: Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

If the parliament of Turkmenistan approves a new constitution later this year, President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov could stay in power for a long, long time.

Currently in Turkmenistan, there's no limit on the number of terms a president can serve, but candidates cannot be older than 70. Under the new constitution — drafted by a commission led by Berdymukhamedov — presidential terms would be extended from five years to seven, and the age ceiling would be removed. The parliament is expected to pass this new constitution, Reuters reports.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.