Elections in Rwanda

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Elections in Rwanda are manipulated in various ways, which include banning opposition parties, arresting or assassinating critics, and electoral fraud. [1] According to its constitution, Rwanda is a multi-party democracy with a presidential system. In practice, it functions as a one-party state ruled by the Rwandan Patriotic Front and its leader Paul Kagame. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The President and majority of members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected, whilst the Senate is indirectly elected and partly appointed.

Contents

Electoral history

Pre-independence

The Decree of 14 July 1952 by the Belgian colonial authorities introduced an element of democracy to the Rwandan political system. A complicated electoral system was created, which involved several stages of elections to eventually elect the national Superior Council; [9] 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 1953–54 and 1956–57.

The first direct elections in Rwanda were held in September 1961, with MDR-Parmehutu winning 35 of the 44 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Post-independence

Following independence in 1962 the country became a one-party state with MDR-Parmehutu as the sole legal party. General elections were held in 1965 in which Grégoire Kayibanda was re-elected President unopposed, whilst the party won all 47 seats in the National Assembly; 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 1969 elections were held under the same system with the same result.

Following a 1973 coup, the next presidential elections were held in 1978, in which voters could vote for or against the candidacy of coup leader Juvénal Habyarimana; 99% voted in favour. Parliamentary elections were delayed until 1981 and saw the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), the sole legal party, win all 64 seats. Habyarimana was re-elected with 99.97% of the vote in 1983, with parliamentary elections a week later seeing the MRND win all 70 seats. Habyarimana was re-elected again in 1988, this time with 99.98% of the vote, whilst the MRND won all 70 seats again in the parliamentary elections the following week.

Due to the Rwandan Civil War and the subsequent genocide, the next elections were not held until 2003, by which time the country had reverted to being a multi-party democracy. Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was re-elected as president in August 2003 with 95% of the vote, whilst the RPF-led coalition won 40 of the 53 elected seats in the September 2003 parliamentary elections. The coalition won 42 seats in the 2008 parliamentary elections, with Kagame re-elected again in 2010 with 93% of the vote. The RPF coalition retained its majority in the 2013 parliamentary elections, winning 41 seats.

Electoral system

The voting age in Rwanda is 18.

President

The President of Rwanda is elected in one round of voting by plurality. [10]

Chamber of Deputies

The 80 members of the Chamber of Deputies consisted of 53 directly elected members elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency, [11] 24 women elected by electoral colleges formed in the provinces (six from Eastern, Southern and Western, four from Northern and two from Kigali) [11] 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. [12]

Senate

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. [13]

Local elections

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. [14]

Referendums

Four national referendums have been held in Rwanda; the first in 1961 decided the future of the monarchy, with 80% voting in favour of abolishing it. A constitutional referendum in 1978 introduced a constitution that made the National Revolutionary Movement for Development the sole legal party, and was approved by 89% of voters. Another new constitution was introduced following a 2003 referendum in which it was approved by 93% of voters. A fourth referendum in 2015 saw amendments to presidential term limits and length approved by 98% of voters.

Related Research Articles

Human occupation of Rwanda is thought to have begun shortly after the last ice age. By the 11th century, the inhabitants had organized into a number of kingdoms. In the 19th century, Mwami (king) Rwabugiri of the Kingdom of Rwanda conducted a decades-long process of military conquest and administrative consolidation that resulted in the kingdom coming to control most of what is now Rwanda. The colonial powers, Germany and Belgium, allied with the Rwandan court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juvénal Habyarimana</span> President of Rwanda from 1973 to 1994

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan Patriotic Front</span> Political party in Rwanda

The Rwandan Patriotic Front is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, winning the Rwandan Civil War in 1994.

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The Arusha Accords, officially the Peace Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Rwandaand the Rwandan Patriotic Front, also known as the Arusha Peace Agreement or Arusha negotiations, were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on 4 August 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War. Primarily organized by the Organisation of African Unity and the heads of state in the African Great Lakes region, the talks began on 12 July 1992, and ended on 4 August 1993, when the accords were finally signed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Revolutionary Movement for Development</span> Political party in Rwanda

The National Revolutionary Movement for Development was the ruling political party of Rwanda from 1975 to 1994 under President Juvénal Habyarimana, running with first Vice President Édouard Karemera. From 1978 to 1991, the MRND was the only legal political party in the country. It was dominated by Hutus, particularly from President Habyarimana's home region of Northern Rwanda. The elite group of MRND party members who were known to have influence on the President and his wife are known as the akazu. In 1991, the party was renamed the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Gabon</span> Political elections for public offices in Gabon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan Civil War</span> 1990–1994 armed struggle between government forces and Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Rwanda

The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within the Rwandan population. A 1959–1962 revolution had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsi to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame, became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Rwanda</span> Head of government of the Republic of Rwanda

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The Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement, also known as the Republican Democratic Movement – Parmehutu, was a political party in Rwanda. The movement emphasised the right of the majority ethnicity to rule and asserted the supremacy of Hutus over Tutsis. It was the most important party of the "Hutu Revolution" of 1959–61 that led to Rwanda becoming an independent republic and Hutus superseding Tutsis as the ruling group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1965 Rwandan general election</span>

General elections were held in Rwanda on 10 March 1965, the first direct one in the country and the first since independence in 1962. At the time, the country was a one-party state with MDR-Parmehutu as the sole legal party. Its leader, Grégoire Kayibanda, ran unopposed in the country's first election for President. Voter turnout was 88%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 Rwandan general election</span>

General elections were held in Rwanda on 29 September 1969. At the time, the country was a one-party state with MDR-Parmehutu as the sole legal party. Its leader, Grégoire Kayibanda, ran unopposed in the presidential election. Voter turnout was 90.9%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Rwandan constitutional referendum</span>

A constitutional referendum was held in Rwanda on 17 December 1978. It followed the 1973 coup d'état by Juvénal Habyarimana and the dissolution of the former sole legal party, MDR-Parmehutu. The new constitution created a presidential republic with no term limits for the President, and made the National Revolutionary Movement for Development the sole legal party. The new constitution replaced the National Assembly, which had been disbanded in 1973, with a new legislative body, the National Development Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Rwandan coup d'état</span> Military coup by Juvénal Habyarimana

The 1973 Rwandan coup d'état, also known as the Coup d'état of 5 July, was a military coup staged by Juvénal Habyarimana against incumbent president Grégoire Kayibanda in the Republic of Rwanda. The coup took place on 5 July 1973 and was considered by many as a betrayal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Rwandan parliamentary election</span>

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In the Rwandan Revolution, the coup of Gitarama was an event which occurred on 28 January 1961 in which the monarchy in Rwanda, then a part of the Belgian mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, was abolished and replaced with a republican political system. The traditional monarchy was led by a Mwami (king), who ruled through an administration of chiefs and subchiefs in the context of a feudal system of patron-client relations based on tribute. The Mwami and most of his chiefs were members of the Tutsi ethnic minority, a group which wielded considerable social, political economic power. Of subordinate status to the Tutsis was the Hutu ethnic majority. As part of their rule, the Belgians institutionalised a racial hierarchy which favoured the Tutsis at the expense of the Hutus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Rwandan general election</span>

General elections are due to be held in Rwanda on 15 July 2024 to elect the president and members of the Chamber of Deputies.

References

  1. ↑ Waldorf, Lars (2017). "The Apotheosis of a Warlord: Paul Kagame". In Themnér, Anders (ed.). Warlord Democrats in Africa: Ex-Military Leaders and Electoral Politics (PDF). Bloomsbury Academic / Nordic Africa Institute. ISBN   978-1-78360-248-3.
  2. ↑ Holmes, Georgina (2014). "Gendering the Rwanda Defence Force: A Critical Assessment". Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. 8 (4): 321–333. doi:10.1080/17502977.2014.964449. S2CID   144474675.
  3. ↑ Thomson, Susan (2018). Rwanda: From Genocide to Precarious Peace. Yale University Press. p. 185. ISBN   978-0-300-23591-3.
  4. ↑ Ph.D, Joseph Sebarenzi; Twagiramungu, Noel (8 April 2019). "Rwanda's economic growth could be derailed by its autocratic regime". The Conversation. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  5. ↑ Waldorf, Lars (2005). "Rwanda's failing experiment in restorative justice". Handbook of Restorative Justice. Routledge. p.  ?. ISBN   978-0-203-34682-2.
  6. ↑ Beswick, Danielle (2011). "Aiding State Building and Sacrificing Peace Building? The Rwanda–UK relationship 1994–2011". Third World Quarterly. 32 (10): 1911–1930. doi:10.1080/01436597.2011.610593. S2CID   153404360.
  7. ↑ Bowman, Warigia (2015). Four. Imagining a Modern Rwanda: Sociotechnological Imaginaries, Information Technology, and the Postgenocide State. University of Chicago Press. p. 87. doi:10.7208/9780226276663-004 (inactive 31 January 2024). ISBN   978-0-226-27666-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)
  8. ↑ Reyntjens, Filip (2011). "Behind the Façade of Rwanda's Elections". Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. 12 (2): 64–69. ISSN   1526-0054. JSTOR   43133887.
  9. ↑ Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Zweiter Halbband, p1699
  10. ↑ Rwanda IFES
  11. 1 2 Electoral system IPU
  12. ↑ General information about the parliamentary chamber: Chamber of Deputies IPU
  13. ↑ General information about the parliamentary chamber: Senate IPU
  14. ↑ Chemouni, Benjamin (2014-04-03). "Explaining the design of the Rwandan decentralization: elite vulnerability and the territorial repartition of power". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 8 (2): 246–262. doi:10.1080/17531055.2014.891800. ISSN   1753-1055. S2CID   153603847.
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