Info on Rwanda
Economy
Rwanda is a rural country with about 80% of the population (8.6 million, 2006) engaged in (subsistence) agriculture. It is landlocked with few natural resources and small industries. Its primary exports are coffee, tea, flowers and minerals. Tourism is a growing sector. Rwanda has a low Gross National Product (GNP), and qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative and the the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. According to the World Food Programme, it is estimated that 60% of the population live below the poverty line and 10-12% of the population suffer from food insecurity every year.
The country has engaged in a series of highly ambitious economic reforms, outlined in the core document of the 'Vision 2020'and the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2008-2012 (EDPRS). The Ubudehe program is a poverty reduction program supported by the European Union which aims to strengthen local structures. It was awarded a special 'Public Service Award' by the United Nations in July 2008.
Political System
Rwanda is a semi-presidential republic with a bi-cameral parliament. A new constitution, enacted in June 2003 (following a referendum) officially marked the end of the transition period and allowed the organisation of presidential and legislative elections, which were held in 2003. Local elections followed in early 2006 after wide-ranging reforms of the territorial administration.
The parliament consists of a Senate (26 seats; 12 members elected by local councils, 8 presidential appointees, 4 appointed by the Political Organizations Forum, 2 from institutions of higher learning; to serve eight-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (80 seats; 53 members elected by popular vote, 24 indirectly elected women, 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; to serve five-year terms).
President Paul Kagame is the head of state and the Commander in Chief of the Rwandan Defence Forces. The president is elected by universal suffrage to a seven year term which is renewable only once. The President appoints the Prime Minister and, upon proposal of the Prime Minster, the other members of the cabinet. The Constitution provides for a balance of power by establishing that a political organization holding the majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies may not exceed 50 per cent of all the members of the Cabinet. It also stipulates that women are guaranteed at least 30% of posts in decision making organs. Exceeding this requirement, the outgoing Rwandese parliament had the world's highest number of women in the legislative (48%).
The Rwandan Constitution guarantees an independent judiciary, separated from the legislative and executive branches of government. Subsequent wide-ranging reforms of the judiciary were launched in 2004.
Rwandan politics remain heavily marked by the 1994 genocide. The current government is intent on avoiding new ethnic polarisation and pursues this goal by promoting a common Rwandese identity and places strong restrictions on any activity it sees as dividing the population ('divisionisme') or, in extension, as indicative of 'genocide ideology.'
Current president Paul Kagame won the presidential elections of August 2003 with 95.05% of the vote, followed by Faustin Twagiramungu (3.62%) and Jean-Népomuscène Nayinzira (1.33%). The presidential elections were followed by parliamentary elections which took place on 29-30 September and 2 October, and in which again the RPF (in coalition with four smaller parties) obtained by far the highest number of votes.
The polls were endorsed by the African Union and South African observers. However, the EU EOM report was more critical.
The government strongly emphasizes national unity and consensual politics, including representatives of all political parties in government. Nine parties are officially registered in Rwanda, seven of which were represented in the lower chamber of parliament after the 2003 elections. These are the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the Centric Democratic Party (PDC), Ideal Democratic Party (PDI), Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR), Democratic Union of the Rwandan People (UDPR), Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Liberal Party (PL). In the 2003 parliamentary elections, the RPF led a coalition of five parties (RPF, PDC, PDI, PSR, UDPR) which won 40 direct seats in parliament. The PSD had seven and the PL six directly elected seats. All parties are part of the 'presidential majority', supporting the politics of the government and president Paul Kagame in particular. The current Cabinet of Ministers (including the president and prime minister) consists of fourteen RPF-members, one minister each from the PL, PSD and PDI, and six 'Independents.' Notably, in March 2007, party political activity was legalised at local level, allowing parties to open offices across the country.
The upcoming elections of the Chamber of Deputies will be conducted from 15 to 18 September. Direct elections of 53 deputies to the Chamber of Deputies will be contested by three political formations and one independent candidate on 15 September. The political formations are:
the RPF-led coalition, which in addition to its previous members now incorporates also the Party for Progress and Concord (PPC) and the Party for Solidarity and Progress (PSP)
the Social Democratic Party (PSD)
the Liberal Party (PL)
From the 16th to the 18th of September indirect elections will take place for the 24 seats reserved for women, two seats reserved for youth representatives and one seat reserved for a representative of the disabled.
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