The Chamber of Deputies conducts oversight of Government performance at all levels of activities making use of different methods and information collected from Government agencies. Going through this activity, the Chamber of Deputies ensures the accountability and performance of public entities.

1. Collection of information

Informing Parliament about the Government activities

The Prime Minister has the responsibility to present Government programmes to Parliament within 30 days from taking office.

Once in a session of Parliament, the Prime Minister comes to inform both Chambers of Parliament in a joint sitting, about Government activities. The Prime Minister communicates Cabinet decisions to the Bureau of each Chamber of Parliament within eight (8) days following their approval.

During sessions, Parliament devotes some sittings for questions by members of Parliament to Cabinet and responses thereto. The Cabinet must provide Parliament with all the required explanations on its activities and management thereof. Particularly, at the beginning of every year, the Prime Minister submits specific strategies and plan of action of each Ministry to both Chambers of the Parliament.

Other means of gathering information

Each Chamber of Parliament, committee, a group of Deputies or a group of Senators, a Deputy or a Senator, as an individual, have methods to obtain relevant information that can help them exercise oversight of Government action throughout the country. Such methods include the exchange of views between the Government and the Parliament or with each Chamber of Parliament separately; meetings with the population; through handling petitions of the population; through the media; testimonies; reports tabled in Parliament by National Commissions specialised and specialised organs as provided for by the Constitution and other laws.

The Chamber of Deputies has the right to ask the Cabinet for copies of official documents in the custody of the Ministry or public institution. Those institutions submit the requested documents to the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies.

2. Methods of Oversight

I. Oral questions

1. Oral questioning means that a Deputy or a group of Deputies requests via the Plenary Assembly, the Prime Minister or any other Cabinet member, depending on everyone’s responsibilities, to give oral explanations thereon, before the Plenary Sitting;
2. Any Deputy or a group of Deputies represented by its spokesperson wishing to ask oral questions to the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet, informs the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies in writing;
3. The Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies submits the request to the Plenary Assembly, which decides on the relevance of questions to be asked and its wording as well;
4. When oral questions are adopted, the Speaker of Chamber of Deputies informs the Prime Minister in writing, with acknowledgement of receipt, stating that one or several members of the Cabinet are called upon to come and respond to oral questions in the Plenary sitting devoted to questions and answers. The Chamber of Deputies has the obligation to notify the Prime Minister of the issue, at least 7 days before the sitting devoted to questions and answers is held. This period may be shortened due to the urgency of an item on the agenda. The sitting devoted to questions and answers is held once a week;
5. After the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet has given explanations, the Plenary assembly debates on the issue and renders a decision;
6. If the Plenary Assembly is satisfied with explanations, the issue is concluded. Otherwise, the Plenary assembly determines one of the other procedures to follow - either written questions or Commissions of inquiry;

The Speaker of Chamber of Deputies informs the Prime Minister of the recommendations stemming from the oversight exercise.

II. Written questions

1. Written question is a request made by a Deputy or a group of Deputies to the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet, depending on everyone’s responsibilities, to give written responses to questions he or she received in writing;
2. Any Deputy or a group of Deputies, who wish to ask a written question, submits it to the Speaker of Chamber of Deputies. The latter submits in writing the question to the Prime Minister and invites him or her to respond to questions that concern him or her, or the whole Cabinet, or requesting him or her to invite a Minister or any other member of Cabinet whose portfolio relates to the questions. The letter must indicate the date and hour the invited person will give explanations and invites the concerned person to attend;
3. Within 15 days from the day he or she received the letter, the concerned person sends a written reply to the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and reserves a copy to the President of the Republic. After the letter has been sent, the concerned person is called upon to come and explain his or her responses in a sitting of the Plenary Assembly devoted to questions and answers. Upon approval by the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies, the concerned member of Cabinet, upon request, may receive an extension of the period of 15 days to provide a response. However, such an extension may not exceed 15 days from the day he or she received the letter granting the period extension;
4. If the Plenary Assembly is satisfied with explanations, the issue is concluded;
5. If the response is not satisfactory to the Plenary Assembly, or if there is no answer to the written question that is communicated to the Speaker of Chamber of Deputies within the prescribed period, or if the person to answer has not attended with no sound reasons, the Plenary Assembly may decide that the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet be heard before Committee;
6. The Speaker of Chamber of Deputies informs the Prime Minister of the recommendations stemming from the oversight activity.

III. Committee Hearing

1. Hearings before a Committee is one of the methods of obtaining information or exercising oversight of Government activities, approved by the Plenary Assembly, inviting the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet to appear before a Committee to furnish ample explanations on a given matter.
2. The hearing may be conducted either before a Standing Committee. To this end, a person who initiated the issue under examination may attend.
3. The Chamber of Deputies may also choose to start with hearings before a Committee whenever it considers it to be the best method to obtain information or to oversee Government work. In this regard, hearings before a Committee is approved upon request of a fifth (1/5) of the Members of the Chamber of Deputies and decided by the Plenary Assembly on the absolute majority vote of the members present.
4. When the hearing before a Committee is decided, the Speaker of Chamber of Deputies informs in writing the relevant Committee of the decisions taken by the Plenary Assembly. Besides, he or she addresses a written invitation to the Prime Minister to appear before the Committee for explanations if he or she is concerned or if it concerns the whole Cabinet or else, requesting him or her to commission a Minister or any other member of Cabinet to appear for questioning in the Committee hearing on the day and time specified in the invitation letter.

5. The Speaker of Chamber of Deputies informs the Prime Minister of the      recommendations stemming from the oversight activity.

6. Hearing before a Committee is conducted within eight days (8) from the      day the Prime Minister receives the invitation letter.

7. Upon request, the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet may      obtain the extension of this period.

   8. The President of the Senate, in collaboration with the Committee      concerned with that issue, examine the basis and reasons provided by      the Prime Minister or any other member of  Cabinet, and if they      find that the request has grounds, they determine another deadline.

   9. The extension of the period may not be granted more than once.

   10. If the Committee hearing is concluded, its report is submitted by the      Committee Chairperson to the Speaker of Chamber of Deputies who      includes it on the order paper of the plenary sitting;

   11. The report is considered by the Plenary Assembly that, if satisfied      with the given responses, decides to conclude the issue, if the      Plenary Assembly is not satisfied with the committee hearing, it      proceeds with the Commission of Inquiry.

The Speaker of Chamber of Deputies informs the Prime Minister of the recommendations stemming from the oversight exercise.

IV. Ad hoc Committee

A group of Deputies appointed by the Plenary Assembly for a specified period of time to find elements that are likely to help know and explain particular issues.

Establishment of Ad hoc Committee

 At the request of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies or at least five (5) Deputies and with the approval of the Plenary Assembly, the Chamber of Deputies may establish an Ad hoc Committee. An Ad hoc Committee is tasked with gathering information and investigate explanations on special issues.

Functioning of Ad hoc Committee

When the Plenary Assembly establishes an Ad hoc Committee, it determines its responsibilities and the time limit for the submission of a report on issues it is required to investigate. Such a time limit may be extended at the request of the Ad hoc Committee after approval by the Plenary Assembly.

The Ad hoc Committee may summon any person whom it considers useful to hear to have access to information relating to the duties assigned to it. The Ad hoc Committee may carry out video and audio recording or be given a copy of any document required for analysis. The Ad hoc Committee is given resources it needs to collect information around the country or abroad, if necessary.

End of the mandate of Ad hoc Committee

The mandate of an Ad hoc Committee comes to an end after tabling a report of its findings and such findings are subject to a resolution of the Plenary Assembly.

V. Commission of inquiry

1. The Chamber of Deputies can set up a Committee of an inquiry commissioned to shed light on issues or occurrences associated with the activities and functioning of the Government, about which the Chamber of Deputies needs furthered information;
2. The commission of inquiry may be established where prior means of oversight did not provide convincing information or if it considers it necessary as the first method of oversight of Government activities;
3. The decision to set up the Commission of Inquiry as the first method is taken by the Plenary Assembly on the absolute majority vote of members present;
4. The Commission of Inquiry is temporary. It is dissolved after the decision on its report is taken by the Plenary Assembly;
5. If the Plenary Assembly decides to set up a Commission of Inquiry, it specifies Government agencies, public institutions concerned and those which are supposed to be controlled by that Commission as well as the period of submission of the report;
6. The Commission of Inquiry submits a report to the Bureau of the Senate within the period it has been allotted. If such a period expires before the completion of its mission, it informs the Bureau and it is the Plenary Assembly that may extend the period;
7. The Speaker of Chamber of Deputies submits the report to Deputies and sets the day for the plenary sitting the agenda of which will include debate on the report of the Commission of Inquiry;
8. Debates are closed by a vote on a decision indicating the role in mistakes of the concerned Cabinet member or turning him or her to be innocent;
9. That decision is taken by an absolute majority vote of the members present at the plenary sitting;
10. The Speaker of Chamber of Deputies transmits the report of the Commission of Inquiry to the President of the Republic, with a copy to the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet concerned with the inquiry;
11. A Deputy, a group of Deputies or the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies may report poor performance of the Commission if any. A member of the Commission may also request to be replaced, as it may be requested by the Commission itself for a well-known reason. To this end, such an issue is included on the agenda of the Plenary Assembly, which may review the composition of the Commission, replace it, or replace the relevant member of the Commission.

VI. Interpellation

The method of interpellation is approved by the Plenary Assembly after finding that the malpractices mentioned in the report of the Commission of inquiry are founded. 

Interpellation is one of the means applied by the Chamber of Deputies in exercising oversight over the work of the Government, requesting the Prime Minister or any other Cabinet member to give explanations before the Plenary Assembly regarding the malpractices spotlighted in the report of inquiry made by one or more commissions on his or her functioning and activities.

A Deputy or a group of Deputies that decides to invite the Prime Minister or another Cabinet member to a session of interpellation addresses a written request to the Speaker enclosing a memorandum on the issues subject to interpellation.

The Speaker sends an invitation letter for interpellation to the Prime Minister or any other Cabinet member concerned with the issue requesting him or her to attend the plenary sitting dedicated to interpellation. The letter also specifies the day and hour of the interpellation. The copy of such a letter is sent to the President of the Republic.

After the response of the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet, debates are declared open. The debates on such interpellation are closed by a vote in favour of release or by admitting the request for the motion of no confidence. The voting is conducted through secret ballot, and decisions are taken through an absolute majority vote of the Deputies present.

VII. The motion of no confidence

The Chamber of Deputies may put the performance of the Cabinet or one or several Cabinet members into question through a vote of no confidence. A motion of no confidence is only accepted after interpellation and only on the condition that the motion is signed by at least a fifth (1/5) of the members of the Chamber of Deputies, in the case of a vote of no confidence against one member of Cabinet, or by at least a third (1/3) of the members of the Chamber of Deputies if it concerns the entire Cabinet.

A member of the Cabinet, against whom a vote of no confidence is passed, tenders his or her resignation to the President of the Republic through the Prime Minister. When the vote of no confidence is passed against the  Cabinet, the Prime Minister tenders the resignation of the  Cabinet to the President of the Republic within twenty-four (24) hours. 

When a motion of no confidence is rejected, signatories to the motion cannot introduce another motion for a vote of no-confidence during the same session. The Prime Minister may, upon the proposal of the Cabinet, request the Chamber of Deputies to pass a motion on a vote of confidence either in respect of the Government Programme or adoption of a bill.

Debates on the request for a vote of confidence may not take place before the expiry of seventy-two (72) hours from the time the request was submitted, a vote of the motion of confidence may only be rejected through a secret ballot by a majority of two thirds (2/3) of the members of the Chamber of Deputies.