Parliamentary elections were held in

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

between 29 September and 2 October 2003. They were the first parliamentary elections since

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and the second multi-party national elections in the country's history. They were held following the approval of a new constitution in a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in August 2003. The result was a victory for the

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) 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, winn ...

-led coalition, which won 40 of the 53 elected seats in the new

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, and eighteen of the 27 reserved for women, youth and the handicapped.Rwanda: Elections held in 2003
Inter-Parliamentary Union Voter turnout was 96.5%.

Electoral system

The 80 members of the

consisted of 53 directly-elected members elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

in a single nationwide constituency, 24 women elected by electoral colleges, and three members elected by mini-committees, two of which represented youth and one represented disabled people.

Campaign

AA total of 230 candidates contested the 53 directly-elected seats, with the official campaigning period starting on 5 September 2003.

Results

References

{{Rwandan elections Elections in Rwanda 2003 in Rwanda

Parliament of Rwanda