Elections in Rwanda

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The major recurring elections in Rwanda on a national level are the election of the President of Rwanda, which recurs after seven years, and the election of the Parliament of Rwanda (Inteko Ishinga Amategeko or Parlement).

The parliament has two chambers: The Chamber of Deputies (Umutwe w'Abadepite or Chambre des Députés) with 80 members. 53 members are elected for a five-year term by proportional representation with a 5% burden, 24 female members are elected by provincial councils, 2 by the National Youth Council, and 1 by the Federation of the Associations of the Disabled.

The Senate (Umutwe wa Sena or Sénat) has 26 members elected or appointed for an eight-year term: 12 elected by provincial and sectoral councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 appointed by the Forum of Political Formations, and 2 elected by the staff of the universities. Former presidents can request to be member of the senate.

The last election in Rwanda involved two party chiefs being accused of charges of inciting ethnic hatred and genocide ideology. Three parties were not permitted to field candidates due to registration related problems. A journalist critical of the government was shot in the head and senior member of the Democratic Green Party was beheaded.[1] Rwanda is rated "Not Free" by the Freedom House Watch[2]

Latest elections

 Summary of the 25 August 2003 Rwandan presidential election results
Candidates - Parties Votes %
Paul Kagame - Rwandese Patriotic Front (Front patriotique rwandais) 3,544,777 95.1
Faustin Twagiramungu 134,865 3.6
Jean-Népomuscène Nayinzira 49,634 1.3
Total valid votes 3,729,276 100.0
Invalid/Blank votes 83,291
Total votes (turnout 96.6%) 3,812,567
Registered voters 3,948,749
Source: National Electoral Commission of Rwanda
 Summary of the 15 September – 18 September 2008 Chamber of Deputies of Rwanda election results
Parties Votes % Seats
Coalition Rwandese Patriotic Front (Front patriotique rwandais) 3,655,956 78.76 42
Christian Democratic Party (Parti démocratique chrêtien)
Islamic Democratic Party (Parti démocratique islamique)
Rwandese Socialist Party (Parti socialiste rwandais)
Prosperity and Solidarity Party (Parti de la Solidarité et du Progrès)
Party for Progress and Concord (Parti du Progrès et de la Concorde )
Democratic Union of the Rwandese People (Union démocratique du People rwandais)
Social Democratic Party (Parti social démocrate) 609,327 13.12 7
Liberal Party (Parti libéral) 348,186 7.5 4
Harelimana J.M.V. 27,848 0.6
Women's representatives 24
Youth representatives 2
Disabled representatives 1
Valid votes 4,641,317 98.8
Invalid votes 56,372 1.2
Total (turnout 98.5 %) 4,697,689 100.0 80
Source: CNE

Next elections

The next presidential elections in Rwanda are scheduled for 2017 and legislative elections for 2013.

See also

References

  1. http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/13601
  2. http://africanelections.tripod.com/fh2012.html

External links