10 1.3. Constitutional reforms At its plenary session of 11 June 2012, the National Assembly (NA) considered and adopted a bill on review of the Constitution to take into account the consensual proposals from the national Conferences on political reforms. A total of five (5) new articles were introduced and fifty-five (55) articles amended out of the one hundred and sixty (160) in the Basic Law to strengthen democracy in Burkina Faso. Customary leadership, republican values like transparency, integrity, probity, impartiality, accountability were integrated in the preamble. The new constitutional provision had to do with the promotion of gender, creation of the Senate, the amnesty granted to Heads of State since 1960 and election of the President of the Constitutional Council by his peers. Concerning the separation of powers, the cornerstone of a rule of law, the national Conference recommended the adoption of a semi-constitutional rule with a reduction of the powers of the executive, the increase of the powers of the Parliament and independence of the justice system. The reduction of the powers of the executive is translated notably by the obligation of the Head of State to appoint a Prime Minister from the parliamentary majority, an appointment which until then was based on the discretionary powers of the President of Faso. This also facilitates the implementation of mechanisms to ensure accountability of the Prime Minister to Parliament. It is a constitutional provision which aims at making the Prime Minister accountable for government action before Parliament (Article 63 of the Constitution). The National Assembly, after the planned reforms, should observe a strengthening of its powers. Henceforth, the Assembly will approve the Prime Minister’s Policy Statement by vote since the new reforms allow for the principle of control of its agenda by Parliament in accordance with Article 118 of the new Constitution. Unlike the former provision which included the agenda in the priority set by Government. With the review, this aspect merely expunged in order to leave the deliberative autonomy with the parliamentarians.