The President must address both Houses of Parliament assembled together at least once in each parliamentary year. An address to the National Assembly alone is, however, optional. The Assembly may discuss the address through a motion of thanks, for the number of days allotted by the Speaker, with a time limit on speeches. Amendments to the motion of thanks may be moved by any member.

Why it matters for the National Assembly proceedings?

The annual address is one of the constitutional points of contact between the Presidency and the legislature. Constitutionally, Parliament includes the President, the Senate, and the National Assembly. Following the address, the government must present an authenticated copy of the address to the House. The Assembly may then proceed to discuss the matters referred to in the Presidential Address. The right to move amendments to the motion of thanks means that the opposition can formally record its dissent from aspects of the President’s address. Moreover, when the motion of thanks to the President is on the Orders of the Day, no adjournment motion may be moved.

What is in it for citizens?

As head of state, the President’s address to Parliament represents the state’s priorities, not merely those of the government of the day. Citizens should therefore pay close attention to what the address emphasises and what it omits, as it signals the direction in which the state intends to move in the coming year.

Citizens should also be aware of a procedural consequence that the address can trigger. Since adjournment motions are one of the most important tools available to members for raising urgent matters of public concern, their suspension during the motion of thanks discussion is a meaningful restriction. Citizens should watch whether governments use the motion of thanks proceedings to limit their representatives’ ability to raise pressing national issues through adjournment motions.

Source: Rules 59–65, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007

The proceedings of the National Assembly are governed by the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The current rules were passed on 23 February 2007 and have since been amended 21 times, most recently on 22 October 2024.

This post is part of FAFEN’s series on parliamentary literacy. Read more of this series here.