On 02 June 2023, the Plenary Sitting of the Senate adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda after considering the report of the Conference of Chairpersons on the analysis of the draft revisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda initiated by the President of the Republic, submitted to the Senate by the Chamber of Deputies.

On behalf of the Conference of the Chairpersons, the Deputy Speaker of the Senate highlighted key changes done by the Conference of the Chairpersons including 8 articles which were amended in substance, 12 modified in style and 156 articles remain unmodified. The Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda counts 176 articles in total.

The President of the Republic requested the amendment of provisions of the Constitution relating to the election of Deputies to synchronise this election with that of the President of the Republic due to the numerous advantages of synchronising both elections.

Among the reasons why the President of the Republic requests to synchronise the election of Deputies with that of the President of the Republic, there is the need to reduce the time dedicated to the organisation of both elections and the budget spent on those elections.

Among the key amendments in the Constitution of Rwanda include: 
•    Article 66 related to the commencement of office for Members of Parliament, the first sitting shall be convened within 30 days instead of 15 days to provide enough time for preparation of the swearing-in ceremony.
•    The 4th paragraph has been added in article 75 related to the composition of the Chamber of Deputies and the election of its members to synchronise the election of the Members of the Chamber of the Deputies and that of the President of the Republic.
•    In Article 79 related to the Dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies for election purposes, the 2nd  paragraph indicating the period of the election of Members of the Chamber of Deputies was removed since its provision was added in the newly formed 4th paragraph to synchronise the election of the Members of the Chamber of the Deputies and that of the President of the Republic.

The Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda which was adopted by the Senate will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the latter shall adopt Senate’s amendments before submitting it to the President of the Republic for promulgation.