Parliamentary elections were held in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

from 15 to 18 September 2008. The elections were boycotted by the opposition,Rwanda votes in election without opposition
Mail & Guardian, 15 September 2008. and resulted in a victory for the ruling

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi; , FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. The RPF was founded in December 1987 by Rwandan Tutsi in exile in Uganda because of the ethnic violence that had occurred during the Rwandan Hutu Revo ...

(FPR), which won 42 of the 53 elected seats. The elections also produced the world's first national parliament with a female majority.

Electoral system

The 80 members of the

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 Bourb ...

consisted of 53 directly-elected members elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

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

Campaigning for the elections began on 25 August 2008. The day was marked by a march of about 2,000 FPR supporters through

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

. The FPR assembled a coalition which included six smaller parties: the

Ideal Democratic Party The Ideal Democratic Party (; , PDI) is a political party in Rwanda. History The party was established as the Islamic Democratic Party () in 1992.Tom Lansford (2014) ''Political Handbook of the World 2014'', CQ Press, p1204 In 2003 the party ad ...

(PDI), the Centrist Democratic Party (PDC), the

Party for Progress and Concord The Party for Progress and Concord (; , PPC) is a political party in Rwanda. The party's motto is: 'Development; Concord; Rwanda's Welfare'. History The party was established in 2003 after the banning of the Republican Democratic Movement.Arthur ...

(PPC), the Prosperity and Solidarity Party (PSP), the

Democratic Union of the Rwandan People The Democratic Union of the Rwandese People (; , UDPR) is a political party in Rwanda. History The party was established in 1992.Tom Lansford (2014) ''Political Handbook of the World 2014'', CQ Press, p1204 It joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front- ...

(UPDR) and the

Rwandan Socialist Party The Rwandan Socialist Party (, PSR) is a political party in Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa conve ...

(PSR). Aside from the FPR coalition, only two other parties participated in the elections; the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. Since both also supported President

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame ( ; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded ...

, there was no opposition participation, as they remained in exile. In addition to the political parties, a single independent candidate, J.M.V. Harelimana, stood in the elections. The

United Democratic Forces The United Democratic Forces (, ОДС/ODS) were a center-right electoral alliance in Bulgaria, led by the Union of Democratic Forces. Members of the coalition 1997 * Union of Democratic Forces (''Sayuz na Demokratichnite Sili'') * Bulgarian ...

opposition coalition, based in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, said that the FPR had total control of the state machinery and electoral process, making the election a mere "

smoke screen A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships. Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...

Conduct

The EU sent an observation mission,"Over 1000 deployed to observe Rwandan parliamentary polls"
African Press Agency, 15 September 2008. as did the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

, the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...

, and the

East African Legislative Assembly The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is a sub-organ of the larger East African Community, being the legislative arm of the Community. Members are sworn into five-year terms. History Since colonial times, a number of organizations have ...

. The direct phase of voting for 53 seats occurred on 15 September. Voting was from 6 am to 3 pm. Kagame voted in the

Nyarugenge Nyarugenge is a sector (''umurenge'') located in Nyarugenge District, Kigali Province, Rwanda. Location It is located in the southwest part of the city of Kigali. The coordinates of Nyarugenge Sector are:1°58'02.0"S, 30°03'20.0"E (Latitude: ...

district of Kigali, and he said on this occasion that the people and the parties needed "to work together for national development". The indirect phase of voting for 27 seats began on 16 September and ended on 18 September.

Results

Chrysologue Karangwa, the head of the electoral commission, announced on 16 September that the FPR had won 42 seats, the Social Democratic Party won seven, and the Liberal Party won four."Kagame's party scoops majority of seats"
Sapa-AFP (''IOL''), September 16, 2008.

Aftermath

The newly elected deputies were sworn in on 6 October, and

Rose Mukantabana Rose Mukantabana (born 31 August 1961) is a lawyer and women's rights activist. She is the former President of the Chamber of Deputies of Rwanda and was the first woman elected to the post. She was elected to serve as chair of the African Parliam ...

was elected as President of the Chamber of Deputies, receiving 70 votes and defeating

Abbas Mukama Abbas may refer to: People * Abbas (name), list of people with the name, including: **Abbas ibn Ali (645–680), popularly known as ''Hazrat-e-Abbas'', the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib (the first imam in Shia Islam) ** Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (56 ...

Dennis Polisi Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is somet ...

was re-elected as First Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, and

Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

was elected as its Second Vice-President.Felly Kimenyi
"Parliament Gets Female Speaker"
''The New Times'' (allAfrica.com), 7 October 2008.

References

{{Rwandan elections Elections in Rwanda

Election, Parliament Parliament of Rwanda