Members of Parliament pass constitutional amendment bill

Members of the lower chamber of parliament Wednesday unanimously approved the recently tabled bill to amend some articles in the constitution to conform to the current state of the nation. The amendment that saw 50 articles of the Constitution that was enacted in 2003, was passed by all the 77 members of parliament who attended the general assembly at the parliamentary building in Kimihurura. According to the Minister of Justice, the amendment will enable the country to pass through the transition from the soon to be dissolved parliament to the new one that will be elected come September this year. “Some of the provisions in the 2003 constitution were provisional so we wanted to make them sustainable. For instance, it will set the right framework through which the new parliament will set off from the old one,” Tharcisse Karugarama who is also the Attorney General said shortly after the MPs voted for the bill. He added that the amendment would also help in harmonization of the constitution with the country’s experience over the last five years. The bill was passed after it was scrutinized by the council of presidents, which consists of the Speaker, the two deputy speakers and all the chairpersons of the parliamentary standing committees. Among others, the constitution will also seek to harmonize the presentation of the national budget with other East African Community (EAC) counterparts to which Rwanda became a fully fledged member last year. According to their calendars, EAC member states present their budgets in June while Rwanda’s annual budget starts with the beginning of the year. “All the procedures outlining the constitutional amendments were strictly followed to the letter,” Karugarama noted.This bill will be forwarded to the Senate before being forwarded to the President for promulgation. Ends

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Members of Parliament pass constitutional amendment bill