During the closing ceremony of the Senate’s first ordinary session, the institution’s leadership issued a firm call to the executive branch. Huguette Yvonne Nyana Ekoume-Awori, President of the Senate, advocated for a significant rationalization of parliamentary operations through the “egalitarian transmission of texts” between the National Assembly and the Senate, strictly adhering to bicameral traditions.
The head of the upper house emphasized that the constitutional framework of bicameralism should not relegate the Senate to a mere recording chamber that simply reacts to the government’s calendar. Aside from specific documents protected by the principle of preeminence—such as finance laws and constitutional amendments—the President is seeking a new approach to the initial filing of draft legislation.
Upholding the Senate’s legislative mandate
Huguette Yvonne Nyana Ekoume-Awori urged the government, represented by Vice-president Hermann Immongault and several ministers, to foster greater fluidity and speed within the parliamentary shuttle. By distributing legislative texts equitably and alternatively between the two chambers from the start of the review process, the executive could help eliminate a persistent structural flaw that hampers the work of parliamentarians.
Reestablishing this balance is expected to achieve two main goals. First, it would end the chronic congestion of files within a single assembly. Second, it would prevent the decline of legal standards, which are frequently compromised by a “dictatorship of urgency” that undermines rigorous deliberation. This call for institutional order serves as an invitation for more harmonious cooperation between powers, ensuring that the legislative process respects the specific prerogatives of the Senate.
