Over 250,000 youths petition Parliament over constitutional amendment

Representatives of over 250,000 youths across the country, yesterday, walked into Parliament with boxes packed with handwritten letters requesting lawmakers to endorse their request for a referendum that would pave way for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Paul Kagame to stand in the next election. They urged Parliament to call for a referendum to allow the amendment of Article 101 of the Constitution, which restricts a head of state to a maximum of two seven-year terms in office. So far, sources at Parliament say, about three million Rwandans have petitioned the House on the same matter. Youth representatives delivered the petition to the Senate and also briefed Senate president Bernard Makuza on the content of the petitions. “We came together as a group of youth through social media networks, we reviewed where our country has come from and what we need to continue moving forward,” Aimable Ngendahayo, an entrepreneur in renewable energy, said. The youth representatives carry one of the boxes containing the handwritten letters urging Parliament to call to vote for a referendum on the constitution. A while back, Ngendahayo formed a youth campaign called ‘Niwowe’ that brought together close to a million people through different social media platforms, with a purpose of discussing the future of Rwanda. It’s from this platform that the idea of a petition was developed. “What we have achieved was mainly due to the leadership of President Paul Kagame, we believe he is still able to take Rwanda to another level. This is why 251,966 youths from across the country have petitioned Parliament to facilitate it to happen,” he said. Those who have so far petitioned Parliament include Rwandans of all persuasions and backgrounds; the youth, women groups, businesses, farmers and religious leaders. “Recently, the President said he wasn’t interested in a third term, but we the people are pleading with him to consider our request. Our plea is informed by his demonstrated ability to deliver to the people,” Sulaiman Rubayiza, who was part of the seven-member team that delivered the petitions, said. Another member of the team, Jean Bosco Masumbuko, summed up why they need President Kagame to seek re-election come 2017, saying the state of nation speaks louder than the limitations in the Constitution. Makuza (second left) witnesses some of the handwritten petitions presented to him by the representatives of youth (on the right) at Parliament yesterday. “We the people are the beneficiaries of what has been achieved today in areas of welfare, economy, security and development, among others, we request the Parliament to grant our wish,” he said. Senate president Makuza told them that their request will be tabled before a joint plenary session of the two chambers for deliberation. “It’s Parliament to decide on whether to call for the referendum, but that decision will be taken after a thorough review of the petitions. If Parliament calls for the referendum, it is still going to be the people to vote on whether to amend the Constitution or not,” Makuza said. Currently, Parliament is in recess and is expected to return for business on June 5, and, according to Makuza, the issue of those petitions has been listed on the agenda of the House for the upcoming session. The youths interact with Senators after delivering boxes packed with more than 250,000 handwritten letters to Parliament yesterday. (All photos by Timothy Kisambira) The Senate president added that the request by the public fits in the provisions of article 193 regarding procedures for constitutional amendment. Article 193 states in part that “If the constitutional amendment concerns the term of the President of the Republic or the system of democratic government based on political pluralism, or the constitutional regime established by this Constitution, especially the republican form of the government or national sovereignty, the amendment must be passed by referendum, after adoption by each Chamber of Parliament.” Also those petitioning the parliament have cited Article 2 of the Constitution which states that all the power derives from the people and used the two articles as basis to ask the Parliament to amend the Constitution. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Over 250,000 youths petition Parliament over constitutional amendment