The Senate chamber approves constitutional reform

{The parliamentary chamber of Senate votes for constitutional amendment following latest approval of deputies to reform the 101 article allowing the president Kagame to posture his candidacy in the next presidential election.}

The president of senate, Bernard Makuza argues that 24 members of senate chamber approved the reform of the constitution.

The preliminary draft constitutional amendment was initially prepared by the Support Commission to Parliament for the Review of the Constitution, and following that the constitutional amendment was initiated and later approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 28th and 29th October 2015.

The initiation of the Amendment of the 2003 Constitution, as amended to date, came after over 3.7 million Rwandans countrywide and from diaspora petitioned the Parliament requesting the review of constitutional provision regarding presidential term and some other outdated articles.

The citizens, mindful of Article 2 of the 2003 Constitution which recognizes that all the power derives from the people as well as the power of Rwandans to exercise national sovereignty, appealed to parliamentarians to specifically amend article 101 which states that, “The President of the Republic shall be elected for a seven years term renewable once.”

The Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies honorable Mukama Abbas who explained the relevance of the draft Constitutional amendment to the Plenary Sitting of the Senate said that Rwandans have spoken with persuasion and conviction through their petitions, which were also followed by countrywide consultations.

He demonstrated that the Chamber of Deputies has considered people’s views and aspirations in writing the draft constitutional amendment.

During today’s Senate Plenary sitting, it was further pointed out that in case there are modified articles that necessitate a referendum as stipulated by article 193 of the Constitution, after adoption of the amendment by each Chamber of Parliament, it is eventually the prerogatives of the relevant institutions to organize the referendum in accordance with the Law.

The constitutional amendment, which henceforth will be immediately examined by the Senate Committee on Political Affairs and Good Governance, has to reflect the people’s aspirations, taking into consideration how Rwandans perceive their past, appreciate their present, and envisage their future.

Based on five reforms that have been remarked since 2003, the parliament acknowledges that the reform will facilitate to build a constant updated constitution.

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