Friday 2 June 2023 - The Plenary Sitting of the Senate adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda after considering the report of the Conference of Chairpersons on the analysis of the draft revisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda initiated by the President of the Republic, submitted to the Senate by the Chamber of Deputies.

Why the changes?

The President of the Republic requested the amendment of provisions of the Constitution relating to the election of Deputies. The proposed amendment provides for the syschnronisation of both the parliamentary and presidential elections for efficiency in the organisation of both elections. More specifially, the proposed sycnhronisation is expected to save both the time and the budget spent on the elections.

What are the key changes? 

Eight articles were amended in substance, 12 modified in style while 156 articles remain unmodified, leaving the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda with 176 articles in total. Among the key amendments in the Constitution of Rwanda include: 

• Article 66 related to the commencement of office for Members of Parliament: The first sitting shall be convened within 30 days instead of 15 days to provide enough time for the preparations of the swearing-in ceremony.
•  Article 75: A 4th paragraph was added, describing the composition of the Chamber of Deputies and the election of its members which shall be synchronised with the election of the President of the Republic.
• Article 79 related to the Dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies for election purposes: The 2nd paragraph indicating the period of the election of Members of the Chamber of Deputies was removed since its provision was added in the newly formed 4th paragraph in article 75 that synchronises both the parliamentary and presidential elections.

What next?

Following the Senate's adoption, the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies to adopt the Senate’s amendments before submitting it to the President of the Republic for promulgation.

Source: The Parliament of Rwanda