Current members of Parliament will serve an extra year as per the government’s earlier request to hold both presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time. The development comes following the publication of the revised Constitution n the official gazette. The revised Constitution was published in the Official Gazette of August 4. ALSO READ: What next after NEC proposes new schedule for next legislative polls? The decision to harmonise the two electoral processes was motivated by the need to minimise the cost of the exercise, both for the state and political parties that take part in elections, among other reasons. Initially, the next parliamentary elections for MPs were scheduled for 2023, while the presidential and senatorial polls were scheduled for 2024. Holding presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time implies that MPs will serve an extra year. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s Constitution to change for presidential, parliamentary poll harmonisation The Chamber of Deputies has 80 MPs. While the President’s term of office was seven years – from 2017 to 2024 –, the term will be five years from 2024 onwards. The term of office for MPs is also five years, which eases the synchronization of their elections. Article 133 which talks about the dissolution – by the President of the Republic – of the Chamber of Deputies due to serious matters of national concern, provides that election of Deputies takes place within 90 days following the dissolution. A new provision was added to the article to stipulate that the elected Deputies serve the remainder of the term of office. This provision prevents the start of a new term, which would hinder the harmonisation of the presidential and parliamentary elections. However, the year 2022 left the Lower Chamber of Parliament with 77 MPs, after the resignation of three MPs. They include MP Gamariel Mbonimana, from Liberal Party (PL), MP Jean-Pierre Celestin Habiyaremye, from RPF-Inkotanyi, and MP Ernest Kamanzi, who was representing the youth. ALSO READ: Which articles will be affected in new constitutional review? Dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies According to Article 79 of the Constitution, for election purposes, the President of the Republic dissolves the Chamber of Deputies at least 30 days and not more than 60 days before the end of the parliamentary term. Period and procedure for conducting presidential elections In Article 100, the Constitution provides that elections for the President of the Republic are held at least 30 days and not more than 60 days before the end of the term of the incumbent President. Meanwhile, some provisions were removed from the Constitution because what they were providing for no longer exist. Others were added to reflect the registered trends. This is the case of provisions on the establishment of a National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, National Commission for the Fight against Genocide and Rwanda Academy of Language and Culture, which were removed because they no longer exist.
