Rwanda ruling party takes control again
Rwanda’s ruling party was set to win three-quarters of directly elected parliamentary seats in this week’s poll though the opposition Greens won seats for the first time, provisional election results showed Tuesday.
Long-time ruler President Paul Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and its seven smaller allied parties, had 74% of the votes after Monday’s election, equating to 40 seats in parliament, a slight drop on five years earlier.
Three other parties supporting the government’s policies shared out most of the other seats.
Final results are not due until September 16.
Parties were vying for 53 of the country’s 80 directly elected parliamentary seats, of which 24 are reserved for women, two for youth and one for the disabled, all chosen by special councils and national committees.
Instead of voting for individual lawmakers, Rwandans vote for a party which then decides the candidates to enter parliament.
The country’s only critical opposition, the Green Party became the first opposition party to enter parliament, according to the results, winning 5% of the vote and two seats.
“It’s a sign that Rwanda is opening up its political spectrum,” said Green party leader Frank Habineza, a former RPF member who has become a critic of Kagame’s policies.
“We have reached a significant objective in obtaining parliamentary seats,” he added, after the Greens, the only opposition party tolerated in Rwanda, won 5% of the popular vote, the minimum required for parliamentary representation.
“Our say was rarely given consideration because we lacked power. Now we will continue our work in parliament by participating in formulation of laws and policies that are in the spirit of democracy, freedom and development,” Habineza, who was a presidential candidate last year, told reporters.
Habineza had won only 0.45% of the vote in last year’s presidential election, which was won by Kagame with 99%.
After Monday’s legislative vote, the RPF’s 74% represents a slight decline since the last parliamentary poll five years ago when they won 76%, but still guarantees the ruling party’s dominance.
Kagame has been the de-facto leader of Rwanda since 1994 when his rebel army routed Hutu forces who slaughtered an estimated 800,000 people and seized Kigali.