The Social Party Imberakuri (PS Imberakuri), on May 27, submitted to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) a list of 80 candidates ahead of the July parliamentary elections.
They include 43 women, according to the party Chairperson, Christine Mukabunani who observed that about 70 per cent of all the candidates are young people with a "thirst to be members of Parliament.”
She said her party’s submission to NEC lacked minutes of a meeting held yesterday on May 26 which approved the list because it was not yet ready. But she told journalist that was "no cause for for worry” because there is still time to May 30, the deadline of candidature submission.
Currently, PS Imberakuri has two MPs, including Mukabunani, in Parliament.
"If we get more than two MPs in Parliament, we will have increased our influence,” she said.
Commenting on why the party will not field a presidential candidate, Mukabunani said that it wanted to first focus on parliamentary elections to scale up advocacy for the population, and passing laws that respond to Rwandans’ needs.
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For Mukabunanai, the fact that the party is not fielding a candidate for the presidency does not mean the party’s growth is inhibited. Instead, she noted, "it is for us to put more efforts in campaigning for joining Parliament.”
"For us, we prefer putting more efforts in the legislative organ, and later as Rwandans have trust in us, we will think of campaigning for the presidency,” she said.
PS Imberakuri becomes the sixth party to have fielded candidates for the parliamentary polls slated for July, after RPF-Inkotanyi and political organisations that entered a coalition with it (which together, presented 80 candidates), Liberal Party (PL) with 54, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) with 66, the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) with 65, and the Ideal Democratic Party (PDI) with 55 candidates.
Overall, political parties have so far submitted lists comprising 400 candidates who are vying for 53 parliamentary seats in the Lower House.
The Chamber of Deputies has 80 lawmakers.
They comprise 53 MPs from political organisations, the coalition of political organisations or independent candidates elected by universal suffrage through direct and by secret ballot; 24 women elected according to the administrative entities of the country; two elected by the National Youth Council; and one elected by the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.