Brussels, 18/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has welcomed the way the general elections in Rwanda took place. They were marked by a high voter turnout (98.5%). There were no opposition candidates. The election began last Monday with the direct election of 53 deputies from political parties. The ruling coalition, which brings together the Patriotic Front (FPR) of president Paul Kagame and six small parties, won 42 seats and had already obtain an absolute majority (The Rwandan National Assembly has 80 deputies in all). Following the vote, which was held on an indirect electoral basis up until Thursday, is expected to allow women, the young and disabled to appoint their representatives (the remaining 27 deputies). The electoral committee will publish the complete provisional results on 22 September.
The EU electoral monitoring missions led by Michael Cashman MEP (PES, United Kingdom), has noted significant improvement on previous elections. The vote count was well organised and important transparency measures were taken. Observers point out that the election authorities proved that they were able to rapidly respond to difficulties which emerged in force during the election process. Reforms in the election campaign, greater medial professionalism and activity by civil society, as well as a greater pluralistic debate were some of the first recommendations made by the EU mission. The European Commissioner for external relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, underlined that these elections marked the beginning of an important election cycle in Rwanda. In a press release published on 18 September, she said that, “In comparison to the elections of 2003, progress has been made including in the areas of freedom of association and assembly at local level. However, having said this, further efforts can still be made in enhancing the transparency and accountability of the electoral process”. Her counterpart for humanitarian aid, Louis Michel, underlined the importance of these second general elections since the 1994 genocide, “this second national legislative election since the genocide in Rwanda has highlighted the important steps towards the consolidation of democracy in Rwanda. Significant progress has been made, and I encourage the Rwandese authorities and population to build on the positive outcome of the elections and to continue contributing with full confidence to the consolidation of a stable, peaceful and democratic country”. (A.B./trans/rh)