Constitutional review team to table proposed amendments

The Constitutional Review Commission today tables their first draft amendments of the Constitution before the Lower House, three weeks after the seven-person team of experts started work.

Parliament has invited the public to the session during which legislators will examine the relevance of the draft revision of the Constitution as prepared by the experts.

The committee that has been working day and night, according to its leader, was set up to provide technical assistance to Parliament following calls by millions of Rwandans to have the Constitution amended.

While commission had specifically sought change of Article 101 of the Constitution to allow President Paul Kagame another chance to run for presidency come 2017, the constitutional review team was equally tasked to propose changes to all clauses in the 2003 Constitution.

The general update of the Constitution was requested by members of both chambers during separate sessions that were held in July to deliberate on the written petitions by over 3.7 million Rwandans from different walks of life, stating different reasons to maintain Kagame as Head of State.

Talking to The New Times, last week, the chairperson of the Constitutional Review Commission, Dr Augustin Iyamuremye, said that together with the council of parliamentary committee chairpersons, the work has been both intensive and extensive as they seek to finish their work within the four-month deadline.

“We are working all days including weekends, the earliest we get out of the office is at 8pm, but it is all in the spirit of working within the deadline. Our first task has been to scrutinise the lodged petitions at the same time looking at other provisions in the law ripe for change,” he said.

The commission has a mandate of four months, subject to extension should the need arise.

Among other changes contemplated by members of the public, lawyers and legislators were to see clauses of Gacaca semi-traditional courts removed and deliberate on which arm of the government competent to handle authentic interpretations of contentious articles in the Constitution.

The amendments are also expected to propose the best way forward concerning the term of the presidency, whether to out rightly remove the term limits or make an exception for President Kagame as suggested during the MPs countrywide consultations.

Others suggested trimming the current seven-year presidential term to five.

The amendment of Article 101 can only be done through a referendum.

The New Times

UM– USEKE.RW