KIGALI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan lawmakers on Wednesday voted to amend the country's constitution to allow presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on the same date.
"Amending the constitution to harmonize the date for parliamentary and presidential polls will help save money and time used for conducting each election," said Edda Mukabagwiza, deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in charge of parliamentary affairs, after the vote.
The bill for the constitutional amendment was proposed by the president and first approved by the Rwandan Cabinet in March this year.
Wednesday's final vote by lawmakers means the parliamentary elections originally scheduled for September this year will be delayed until August next year, the date set for presidential polls, according to officials.
According to the National Electoral Commission, holding parliamentary and presidential elections at the same time could save the country about 6 billion Rwandan francs (about 5 million U.S. dollars).
This is the second amendment to the country's constitution since 2015 when it was amended to reduce presidential tenure to two five-year terms. ■
