Rwanda’s cabinet has approved President Paul Kagame’s proposal to amend the country’s constitution and hold presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously.
The amendment is aimed at the “harmonisation of parliamentary and presidential elections calendars”, according to a statement outlining cabinet resolutions seen by Reuters.
The statement did not mention the effective date of the amendment. If the constitutional change is implemented, the parliamentary polls scheduled for August 2023 may be pushed back to coincide with presidential elections next year.
Kagame has been Rwanda’s president since 2000 and the country last amended its constitution in 2015 to extend his rule.
Officials have previously cited the need to reduce the cost of holding both elections as a reason to hold them simultaneously.
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