According to a statement outlining cabinet resolutions, Rwanda intends to change its constitution to permit simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.
A proposal by President Paul Kagame to change the country’s constitution to permit “harmonization of parliamentary and presidential elections calendars” was authorised by the cabinet on Friday, according to a statement. It did not specify the date on which the change would take effect.
Currently slated to take place in August of this year, parliamentary elections may be postponed to next year in order to coincide with presidential elections if the constitutional change is put into effect.
The nation of east Africa last changed its constitution in 2015 to enable Kagame to serve a seven-year term beginning in 2017 and two additional five-year terms. The tenure of the legislators is five years.
Since the year 2000, Kagame has presided over Rwanda. In the past, officials have claimed that holding both polls simultaneously was necessary to cut down on operating expenses.