The Solemn ceremony to officially handover accoutrements to Senators of the third legislature was brief but emotion packed.
All 100 senators (70 elected and 30 appointed) were present at the event that was void of speeches.
The eldest member, welcomed his peers and outlined the law laying down the wearing of attributes given to Senators.
The eldest member of the Upper House, René Ze Nguele was flanked by the two youngest members of the house, Jeanne Caroline Afane and Michel Kotoko.
He said, the accoutrements comprise stripe and the insignia won during sessions, official ceremonies and other events where the bearer is operating in his capacity as Senator.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Senate, explained the procedure of adorning the attributes.
The eldest member then told the Senators to each wear their accoutrements.
This was high point of the event as the multitude of media professionals who were accredited to the event hurried to capture photographs of Senators in their attributes.
A group photograph with all the Senators in their accoutrements crowned the official phase of the ceremony.
Relative, friends, dance groups and other relations sprang into action celebrating with their Senators.
Validation of Mandate
Prior to the solemn ceremony to hand over accoutrements, the Senators were grouped in four committees for verification of incompatibilities.
The reports of the committees were handed to the presiding bureau lead by the eldest member. The bureau then proceeded with the validation of the mandate of each Senator following ensuring that they don’t hold any other post of responsibility that are incompatible with the duty of Senator.
What Next
After being officially admitted in to the Senate, the 100 Senators will proceed with electing a permanent bureau that will run the affairs of the Senate for a year.
The permanent bureau is renewed every year at the start of the March session.
