On 31 March 2023, the Plenary Sitting of the Chamber of Deputies adopted the relevance of the draft revision of the Constitution initiated by the President of the Republic of Rwanda.
Minister of Justice Dr Ugirashebuja Emmanuel said that according to the provisions of the Constitution relating to the terms of office of members of Parliament and the President of the Republic, the next election for deputies is scheduled for August 2023, while the election for the President of the Republic is scheduled for 2024.
He added that in accordance with article 175 of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda of 2003 revised in 2015, the President of the Republic requested the amendment of provisions of the Constitution relating to the election of Deputies to synchronise this election with that of the President of the Republic due to numerous advantages of synchronising both elections.
Among the reasons why the President of the Republic requests to synchronise the election of Deputies with that of the President of the Republic, there is the need to reduce the time dedicated to the organisation of both elections and the budget spent on those elections.
Grounds for revision of the constitution:
– Reducing the time dedicated to the organisation of elections
The synchronisation of dates of the election of Deputies and the presidential election will allow the simultaneous organisation of both elections, thus reducing the time that they would take if they were to be organised in different periods.
– Reducing election budget
The synchronisation of the dates of the election of Deputies and the presidential election will result in combining budgets spent on both elections, which will help in reducing the funds spent on electoral activities.
After the adoption of the relevance of the draft revision of the Constitution, initiated by the President of Rwanda, the Constitution will be considered by the Conference of Chairpersons comprising the Bureau of Standing Committees and the Bureau of Chamber of Deputies. (End)