Rwanda: President Paul Kagame already “declared winner” in upcoming July election

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Election day expected: Mid-July 2024

In Rwanda, President Paul Kagame is guaranteed to be re-elected on 15 July 2024. Opposition is systematically prevented from presenting candidates. Only minor parties may in practice submit candidacies in good shape, which essentially have no impact on the outcome of the voting.  Paul Kegame has been in power since 1994.

(c) MondAfrique


Elections in Rwanda are manipulated in various ways, which include banning opposition parties, arresting or assassinating critics, and . According to its constitution, Rwanda is a multi-party democracy with a . In practice, it functions as a ruled by the and its leader . The and majority of members of the are directly elected, whilst the is indirectly elected and partly appointed.

Electoral history

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Pre-independence

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The Decree of 14 July 1952 by the Belgian colonial authorities introduced an element of democracy to the political system. A complicated electoral system was created, which involved several stages of elections to eventually elect the national Superior Council; notables elected Sub-Chiefdom Councils; sub-chieds and notables elected Chiefdom Councils; sub-chiefs and Chiefdom Council members elected Territorial Councils, with chiefs and Territorial Councils electing the Superior Council member. Elections were held under this system in and .

The first direct elections in Rwanda were held in , with winning 35 of the 44 seats in the .

Post-independence

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Following independence in 1962 the country became a with MDR-Parmehutu as the sole legal party. were held in 1965 in which was re-elected President unopposed, whilst the party won all 47 seats in the ; in the presidential elections voters could vote for or against Kayibanda's candidacy, whilst in the National Assembly elections voters could approve the entire MDR-Parmehutu list or give a preferential vote to one candidate. The were held under the same system with the same result.

Following a , the next were held in 1978, in which voters could vote for or against the candidacy of coup leader ; 99% voted in favour. were delayed until 1981 and saw the (MRND), the sole legal party, win all 64 seats. Habyarimana was re-elected with 99.97% of the vote in , with a week later seeing the MRND win all 70 seats. Habyarimana was re-elected again in , this time with 99.98% of the vote, whilst the MRND won all 70 seats again in the the following week.

Due to the and the subsequent , the next elections were not held until 2003, by which time the country had reverted to being a multi-party democracy. of the (RPF) was re-elected as president in with 95% of the vote, whilst the RPF-led coalition won 40 of the 53 elected seats in the . The coalition won 42 seats in the , with Kagame re-elected again in with 93% of the vote. The RPF coalition retained its majority in the , winning 41 seats.

Electoral system

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The in Rwanda is 18.

President

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The is elected in one round of voting by .

Chamber of Deputies

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The 80 members of the consisted of 53 directly elected members elected by in a single nationwide constituency, 24 women elected by electoral colleges formed in the (six from , and , four from and two from ) and three members elected by mini-committees, two representing youth (elected by the National Youth Council) and one representing disabled people (elected by the Federation of the Associations of the Disabled.

Senate

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The Senate has 26 members, of which 14 are indirectly elected and 12 are appointed. The 14 indirectly elected members consist of 12 members elected by local councils and two university lecturers elected by university staff. The 12 appointed members include eight appointed by the President and four appointed by the Forum of Political Organisations.

Local elections

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Elections are established at every tier of local government, except the provincial level, where the Governor is appointed by the national government. Elections are only direct elections by the citizens at the cell level. Members of sector and district councils are elected indirectly from the level below, with reserved seats for representatives of the interest groups of women and of youth. No candidate at local elections can claim partisan affiliation.

Referendums

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Four national referendums have been held in Rwanda; the decided the future of the monarchy, with 80% voting in favour of abolishing it. A in 1978 introduced a constitution that made the the sole legal party, and was approved by 89% of voters. Another new constitution was introduced following a in which it was approved by 93% of voters. A fourth saw amendments to presidential term limits and length approved by 98% of voters.

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  • Adam Carr's Election Archive
  • African Elections Database
Other Articles in this Week's Issue<< Togo: President Gnassingbe likely to prevail amid ineffective oppositionSomaliland: An unrecognized state in search of legitimacy >>

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