« Back to Provision

Constitutional Reform – 2002

In November 2002, the constitutional commission put forward a draft constitution, according to which the transitional period (and under which the government of national unity had been governed since its establishment on 19 July 1994) was set to end in July of the following year.¹

Postscript: A two day cabinet meeting was held in February 2003 to discuss the draft constitution. The president, who was presiding over the discussion, then handed over its findings to the national assembly for the national referendum scheduled for 25 May.² The draft constitution was adopted by the assembly on 23 April 2003.³ In the referendum of 25 May 2003, the draft constitution was adopted with more than 90% voters supporting the proposed draft.⁴ Once the Rwandan Supreme Court approved the referendum result, president Kagame signed the new constitution which then came into effect on 4 June 2003.⁵ The RPF-led government implemented extensive gender-based reforms, including changing inheritance laws and property laws to increase women’s rights. The new constitution encouraged the election of many women to public office, particularly parliament.

1. “New Constitution Stipulates Transitional Period to End in July 2003,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, November 13, 2002
2. “President Opens Two-Day Cabinet Discussions of Draft Constitution,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, February 28, 2003.
3. “World Briefing Africa: Rwanda: New Constitution,” New York Times, April 24, 2003.
4. “Rwanda Voters Approve Draft Constitution,” Voice of America News, May 27, 2003.
5. “Rwanda’s New Constitution Comes Into Force,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 4, 2003