Rwanda’s only opposition party has petitioned parliament not to amend the Constitution to remove the term limits for presidents, even as the House continued to receive petitions calling for an amendment.

A statement released by the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) reiterated its opposition to any change to the Constitution regarding presidential term limits.

“The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda is fully convinced that it’s important to respect the Constitution in order to allow a peaceful transfer of power as it ensures sustainable peace, democratic culture, rule of law and development,” said the statement signed by party president Frank Habineza.

Mr Habineza said altering the Constitution to remove term limits will be against the achievements the country has registered since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Speaker Donatille Mukabalisa said they were accepting all views on the matter.

“Everyone is free to come. The doors are open; all Rwandans are free to express themselves. It is not true that we are receiving petitions from one side,” she told The EastAfrican.

More than two million Rwandans have petitioned parliament to amend the Constitution, with some 150,000 requests coming in last week.

READ: Rwandans set the ball rolling in campaign to extend Kagame’s rule

Ms Mukabalisa said parliament will discuss the matter when it resumes on June 5.

“The House will table the issue and discuss how best the demands of the people can be addressed. One option is to conduct a referendum so that people can vote on the issue. They have spoken through the petitions, but there are other ways set out by the law under which the Constitution can be amended on contentious issues like this one,” Ms Mukabalisa said.

The petitions streamed in, with members of the business community through the Private Sector Federation (PSF) leading the way last week.

PSF chair Benjamin Gasamagera said President Kagame has not only been behind socio-economic transformation during his tenure, but is also a pro-business leader who oversaw major reforms.

“Many of our members, as in other sectors of the country, have been asking us to do something as far as this issue of removing term limits is concerned. The board convened and decided to write to parliament requesting to deliver the signatures. Our reasons are really simple. President Kagame, at the helm, has seen the business sector grow. But above all, he is pro-development; he promoted unity and reconciliation as well as social cohesion. The achievements of the business community under him are many,” said Mr Gasamagera.

Rwanda’s private sector is largely dominated by and closely controlled by the ruling party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), which runs the biggest business ventures in the country. Most successful business entities are closely linked to the party through their owners or controllers.

READ: RPF pushes for Kagame to serve third term

It has been alleged that the RPF, which has been at the helm for the past 21 years, has been pushing, behind the scenes, the drive to petition parliament to remove term limits.

“There could be many people against the plans to amend the Constitution, but in a society like Rwanda’s they certainly fear to do so, fearing consequences and how they would be perceived,” a political analyst and academic who spoke on condition of anonymity told The EastAfrican.

“In normal circumstances, it should be a two-sided debate with one side for and the other against, because even the head of state mentioned that there are two sides to the issue. But at the moment, we may never see those against it coming up,” the scholar said.

While appearing on a radio talk-show over the weekend, Senator Tito Rutaremara, a senior RPF official, said the party has not blocked anyone from expressing a different view on what should happen come 2017.

“I don’t think anyone has brought petitions to parliament against the amendment of the Constitution and was sent back,” Mr Rutaremara said, adding that people should feel free to do so if they have a different view.

Last week, there were reports that leaflets warning citizens against supporting efforts to remove term limits were found by police in two different universities, INES in Musanze, Northern Province and in Kigali Independent University.

According to Mr Rutaremara, the unsigned leaflets should not be given credibility because they bore no name or signature, adding that those who think otherwise should bring signed petitions to parliament.

The debate on the third term calling for the removal of Article 101 has been largely one-sided, seemingly calling on parliament to endorse the processes to amend the Constitution.

President Kagame is serving his last official term as specified by the Constitution. The Rwandan leader recently said that he is open to going or remaining based on what Rwandans decide ahead of 2017.