China vote for leader to rule for life

CHINESE president Xi Jinping is set to hold the post for life after the country voted to remove term limits.

The ruling gives Xi, 64, the right to stay in office indefinitely and makes him the most powerful Chinese leader since Chairman Mao Zedong.

The ruling Communist party suggested the amendment but there was little chance of it failing as the parliament is run by its members.

Just two people out of 3,000 delegates voted against the move.

Xi cast his vote first, followed by the other six members of the elite Standing Committee, which runs China.

Loud applause followed the result, though Xi did not address parliament.

The limit of two five-year terms was written into China’s constitution in 1982, six years after Mao’s death, when collective leadership was promoted.