Summary report of the Senate plenary session of August 20, 2020 on the analysis and adoption of the Internal Regulation of the Senate for the sixth legislature

The year two thousand and twenty, on the twentieth day of August, senators met in the Senate Chamber for the first plenary session of the sixth Legislature to adopt the Internal Regulation of the Senate Rules.

That session, which was led by the oldest of the present senators, Honorable KURISANSUMA Jean Bosco, started at 09.25 am and was attended by 39 senators. The President of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Pierre Claver KAZIHISE also participated in it.

Here is the new team of Senators for the 2020-2025 Sixth Legislature.

Before opening the session, the Senior advisor in charge of Protocol affairs to the Senate first welcomed all the senators and recalled that the session is being held in accordance with decree n° 100/042 of August 17, 2020 of His Excellency the President of the Republic convening the first session of the Senate which sets the agenda, namely the adoption of the Internal Regulations and the establishment of the Senate Bureau.

He then invited the President of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Pierre Claver KAZIHISE to take the floor and introduce the oldest of senators who was going to lead the activities of the session in accordance with provisions of Article 187 of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi.

Taking the floor, the President of the Independent National Electoral Commission first congratulated and encouraged the new senators in their new functions and invited the oldest senator, Honorable KURISANSUMA Jean Bosco, to take a seat to lead the session.

The President of the session reminded senators of the terms of the decree of the President of the Republic which convenes the session and which invites them to set up the Bureau of the Senate within a week. He stressed that the amendment of the Rules of Procedure is necessary for its compliance with the new Constitution of 2018. The Internal Regulation is the basis for the proper functioning of the Senate, he added.

After the presentation of the proposed amendments, the Chairman of the session invited honorable senators to ask questions for clarification and to make other possible proposals to enrich the Internal Regulation before proceeding to their adoption.

For the question to know if there would be an article which evokes the issue of quorum in the Internal Regulation, senators answered that this is stipulated in its article 69 and that moreover, any activity of the Senate which requires a vote requires a quorum.

To the question relating to the replacement of senators, the Chairman of the session clarified that the Senate does not have the full power to choose the alternates itself, but that this prerogative belongs to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Regarding article 4 paragraph 1 which would be in contradiction with article 187 of the Constitution, senators mentioned that it would be necessary to comply with article 187 paragraph 2, which stipulates that: “The first session of the Senate begins with full force right on the first working day following the seventh day after the end of the current legislature and after the validation of its election by the Constitutional Court”.

By the end of the general debate, the proposed substantive and technical amendments were unanimously adopted.

Thus, after those fruitful exchanges, the Draft of the Internal Regulation of the Senate Rules for the year 2020-2025 legislature were put to a vote and adopted by all senators.

The session, which took place in an atmosphere of mutual understanding ended with a prayer at 10.40 am.