constituteproject.org • First chamber selection • Secret ballot • Claim of universal suffrage PDF generated: 18 Apr 2016, 15:15 Article 77: Members of the Chamber of Deputies elected by ballot from a final list of names Members of the Chamber of Deputies specified in point 1^ of the Paragraph One of article 76 shall be elected by direct universal suffrage through a secret ballot from a final list of names using the system of proportional representation. The seats which remain after allocation of seats by dividing votes received by the electoral quotient shall be distributed to political organizations according to the system of the highest surplus. The list shall be compiled with due respect of the principle of national unity as stipulated in Articles 9 and 54 of this Constitution and the principle of gender equality in matters relating to elective offices as stipulated in Article 54 of this Constitution. Candidates may be nominated by a political organization or may stand independently. A political organization or list of independent candidates which fails to attain at least five per cent (5 %) of the votes cast at the national level during legislative elections cannot be represented in the Chamber of Deputies or benefit from grants given to political organizations by the State. • Replacement of legislators • Removal of individual legislators Article 78: Replacement of a Deputy A Deputy shall lose his/her seat in the following cases :   1°. resignation from the Chamber of Deputies;   2°. Having been expelled from the Chamber of Deputies;   3°. resignation from his/her political organization ;   4°. having been expelled from the political organization to which he/she belongs in accordance with provisions of the Organic Law governing political organizations;   5°. Having joined another political organization;   6°. Upon death. Disputes relating to the decision to expel a Deputy from the Chamber of Deputies or from a political organisation are adjudicated by the Supreme Court in the first and last instance. In the event that a Deputy loses or is removed from office when his/her term still has more than one year, the seat vacated shall devolve upon the person who was next on the list on which he/she was elected. Deputies who were elected by means other than through lists of political organizations who lose or are removed from office shall be replaced through new elections. The Law relating to elections provides for modalities of replacing a Deputy who leaves his/her position for whatever reason. Rwanda 2003 (rev. 2010) Page 23