Throughout his rule, Rhee took extra steps to keep his control over the government. In May 1952 Rhee pushed through constitutional changes which made the presidency a directly-elected position. To get this passed by parliament he declared martial law. He jailed the members of parliament he thought would vote against it. Rhee was soon elected by a big majority. He regained control of parliament in the 1954 elections. He pushed through an amendment to exempt himself from the eight-year limit on presidents.