Rwanda
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Parliament name
Parliament (Parlement)
Chamber name
Sénat (Senate)
Structure & Status of parliament
This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
from 1971 to 1973
from 1982 to 1994
from 1995
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
African Group
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
President of the Senate
Speaker
François-Xavier
Kalinda
(Male)
Year of birth
1962
Term
09.01.2023
Additional information
Elected on 9 Jan. 2023.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Clerk of the Senate
Secretary General
Sosthène
Cyitatire
(Male)
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Indirectly elected
Compare data of this field.
Indirectly elected members
Indirectly elected, for example by regional parliaments or an electoral college.
18
Appointed members
Appointed, for example, by the Head of State.
8
Note on the statutory number of members
Indirectly elected members:
- 12 members (one from the City of Kigali, two from Northern Province, three each from Provinces of West, East and South) indirectly elected by members of the Executive Committees of Sectors and District, Municipality, Town or City Councils,
- Four members elected by the Forum of Political Organizations,
- Two university lecturers indirectly elected by the academic and research staff of public and private universities and institutions of higher education.
Appointed members: Eight members appointed by the President.
At least 30 per cent of members must be women.
In addition, former Heads of State become members of the Senate upon their request.
See historical data for this field.
- 12 members (one from the City of Kigali, two from Northern Province, three each from Provinces of West, East and South) indirectly elected by members of the Executive Committees of Sectors and District, Municipality, Town or City Councils,
- Four members elected by the Forum of Political Organizations,
- Two university lecturers indirectly elected by the academic and research staff of public and private universities and institutions of higher education.
Appointed members: Eight members appointed by the President.
At least 30 per cent of members must be women.
In addition, former Heads of State become members of the Senate upon their request.
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
Click for historical data
See historical data for this field.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.
Number of members, by age
18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Totals per age interval | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Total <= 45: 4 | Total >= 46: 22 | ||||||||||
Male | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Female | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Members for whom data is available
26
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Number of reserved seats, by group
Notes
At least 30% of the members must be women
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Notes
At least thirty per cent (30 %) of the Senators shall be women
Legal source
Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
Constitution, art 82
Electoral quota for youth
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.