All the 11 political parties that are legally operational in the country have prepared their members to participate in next month’s parliamentary elections, the president of the Senatorial Committe on Good Governance, Nepomuscène J. Sindikubwabo, said yesterday.

The parliamentary elections are slated for September 2-3.

"The political party leaders are ready to make sure that there is no segregation based on gender, ethnicity, and religion, and that unity and gender balance will be respected,” Sindikubwabo said as he presented the report on his committe findings on how fundamental principles are respected within the country’s political parties

According to the constitution, fundamental principles, include fighting the genocide ideology and all its manifestations, equality of all Rwandans and between women and men and the constant quest for solutions through dialogue and consensus among others.

Questions arise

Senator Niyongana welcomed the report but questioned whether the methodology used exhausted all the areas that had the potential of giving a clear picture of what political parties are doing.

"I would like to ask about the methodology used in this assessment. I am not fully convinced. How can we quantify what these parties actually do for their members? It seems to me as if this is an opportunity for the leaders of these parties to talk about themselves,” he said.

Pointing out conflict resolution as an example, Niyongana told fellow senators that he would have preferred to hear more in-depth analysis based on field work on how political parties are dealing with the issue.

"Their activities are in their programmes, their manifestos. It’s better if we can see real stories. For instance, on conflict resolution, I didn’t hear of how a political party resolved a conflict, what those involved had to say. It would have shed more light,” he said.

The Vice President of the Senate Jeanne d’Arc Gakuba agreed saying that there was need to see political party social programmes and activities and how their members are benefitting from them.

"There are things that we would have liked to see regarding these political parties’ projects, programmes and activities and how their members benefit,” she said.

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