During the formal wrap-up of the Sénat‘s inaugural ordinary session, the upper house leadership sent a firm message to the executive branch. Huguette Yvonne Nyana Ekoume-Awori, presiding over the body, advocated for a fundamental shift in how laws are processed, insisting on an « equal transmission of texts » between the two parliamentary houses to uphold true bicameral principles.
The Senate President emphasized that the constitutional framework should not relegate the upper chamber to a mere rubber-stamp office. She argued against the institution being forced to react solely to the government’s scheduling pressures. While acknowledging that specific documents like finance bills and constitutional amendments follow established priority rules, she proposed a more strategic approach to introducing general legislation.
Upholding the Senate’s legislative integrity
Addressing an audience that included Vice-President Hermann Immongault and several cabinet members, Huguette Yvonne Nyana Ekoume-Awori urged the government to facilitate a smoother and faster legislative flow. By distributing bills fairly and alternately between the Assemblée nationale and the Sénat from the outset, the executive could solve a long-standing structural bottleneck that hinders parliamentary effectiveness.
Correcting this imbalance would serve two main purposes. First, it would alleviate the chronic congestion of files that often plagues a single chamber. Second, it would protect the legal quality of the nation’s laws, which are frequently compromised by a « dictatorship of urgency » that undermines thorough debate. This institutional appeal seeks a more balanced partnership between branches of government to ensure the Sénat‘s role in lawmaking is fully respected and its prerogatives are maintained.
