A constitutional review team composed of the council of parliamentary committee chairpersons backed by the seven-member Constitutional Review Commission experts, was instituted to help Parliament work on amendments for the 12-year old Constitution.

The team, led by Speaker Donatille Mukabalisa, yesterday tabled before parliament the draft of the amended Constitution, a move that was welcomed by MPs, specifically commending the speed with which they have worked to have the first draft ready.

Having been amended four times since its adoption in 2003, the current amendments are unique, especially Article 101, which stipulates the term limits for the head of state, and can only be amended by a national referendum.

The proposed amendments were presented by the Deputy Speaker in charge of legislative affairs, Jeanne d’Arc Uwimanimpaye, who is the team’s rapporteur.

In the same respect, the team, according to Uwimanimpaye, sought to make the draft revision of the Constitution more user-friendly, easier to interpret and not conflicting with other legislations in place.

While the amendments were unanimously approved and endorsed by the Plenary, some lawmakers proposed a number of other changes that can be considered during an extensive review of the law at the committee level.

Genesis

The constitutional review process was triggered by demands by millions of Rwandans, who, beginning early this year, filed petitions at Parliament calling for the amendment to the supreme law to allow President Paul Kagame’s continued leadership.

Under the current Constitution, Kagame cannot lead the country beyond 2017 because he is serving his second seven-year term that expires that year.

Armed with the different milestones the country has achieved under Kagame’s leadership and outlining what more they expect from him, over 3.7 million Rwandans submitted to parliament their written petitions, specifically calling for the amendment of Article 101.

On July 14, both chambers of Parliament, in separate sittings, supported the wishes of the people and basing on the principle that power belongs to the people, and launched countrywide consultations to gather more views from Rwandans of different constituencies.

After the consultations, the legislators initiated a law establishing a Constitutional Review Commission, a team of seven experts that was to help the MPs in overhauling the Constitution before it can be put to a referendum.

Three weeks ago, the commission, which is headed by Augustin Iyamuremye, started its work with the committee of chairpersons of standing committees of the lower chamber and collectively, came up with the amendments tabled yesterday.

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