Petition

A petition is a way of bringing a grievance or an issue of public or personal concern to the attention of Parliament to take action within its authority. A petition asks for some form of relief which Parliament can to grant by its jurisdiction.

Who can petition the Parliament?

Any person, groups of people or an organisation that has the right to petition the Parliament.

Types of petitions

There are generally two types of petitions that can be submitted to Parliament, that is, a special and a general petition. The special petition is a petition from an individual that is requesting for specific relief, in the form of a pension, for service rendered to the State for which there is no law providing for it.

A general petition is a petition from an individual or group of people on a matter requiring relief of a general nature.

Form and content of petition

First and foremost, know that there is no set format for a written petition. However, for your petition to be clear enough, it has to:

  • be in one of the official languages;
  • be signed by the petitioners themselves
  • not contain improper or disrespectful language;
  • clearly explain the issue or circumstances for Parliament's consideration, and
  • must indicate the nature of the relief asked from the Parliament which the Parliament can grant in terms of its authority.
  • be supported by relevant evidence.

Petitions submitted through Deputies

Unless where both Chambers convene in a joint sitting, the first thirty minutes (30) of the plenary sitting are devoted to tabling petitions before the Chamber of Deputies. A Deputy wishing to table before the Plenary Assembly a petition having been presented to him/her by a citizen is given a speaking time of ten (10) minutes to table it before the Plenary Assembly.

A petition tabled before the Plenary Assembly is not subject to debates. Instead, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies immediately refers it to the Committee concerned for it to make a follow-up on the petition or for the petition to be considered as part of the oversight of the executive branch. The Committee submits a report to the Plenary Assembly for decision.