The mayor, Matt Weyuker, says his motivation for trying to prolong his term and those of two allies on the City Council was to benefit democracy.
He might even prolong that term if he were to wait until November for his official swearing-in ceremony, a manoeuvre apparently allowed by the constitution.
M'ba now had full executive powers: he could appoint ministers whose functions and responsibilities were decided by him; he could dissolve the National Assembly by choice or prolong its term beyond the normal five years; he could declare a state of emergency when he believed the need arose, though for this amendment he would have to consult the people via a referendum.
Mr Lukashenko last used a referendum in 1996 to prolong his first term to seven years, only to be re-elected to a second term in 2001.
Mr Lukashenko used a referendum in 1996 to prolong his first term to seven years.
In Rwanda's refugee centres, some Tutsis said they had fled an expected backlash from Nkurunziza's security forces after last week's attempted coup by generals opposed to his plans to prolong his presidential term.
His continued stay in prison seemed more a political decision than a legal one, stemming largely from procedural tricks and delays meant to prolong his pretrial term in detention.
Opposition parties refused to recognise a referendum held in 1996 which vastly increased presidential powers and prolonged his term until 2001.
The parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson, who separated a year after the kidnapping, made emotional pleas for a prolonged prison term.
America's interests will be best served by acting with dispatch to work as partners with free Iraqis to help them build a stable, self-governing nation, not by prolonging our term as Iraq's ruler".
Mr. Lukashenko, who was elected in 1994 and has warned that Belarus will descend into chaos if his rule ends, has been accused of illegally prolonging his term through a sham constitutional referendum, but he remains popular among peasants.
