Allegations that political parties in Rwanda do not have political space, are not true, the Senate president has said.

Dr. Vincent Biruta, who is also the chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) said the space was guaranteed by the Constitution and laws governing political organisations.

"There is no problem, up to now there is no political party that has been stopped from operating. For example our party organizes meetings, and other related activities without any hindrance," Vincent Biruta, the PSD Chairman said.

While talking to The New Times yesterday at his office in Kacyiru, Biruta who is also the President of the Senate said that the parties are only expected to respect the law governing the functioning of the parties.

He added that it is those who look at the country in the Western world’s context who say that there is no political space in Rwanda.

"These Western countries have a kind of framework which they want every country to adopt, yet their history and cultures are different from ours," he said.

Rwanda has adopted three fundamental principles which guide the country’s politics: multiparty democracy, power sharing and constant pursuit for solutions through dialogue and consensus. The principles make Rwanda different from other countries, Biruta said.

Western countries say that there is no opposition here because they believe in majority and opposition. Rwanda does not work under an exclusion system where the winner takes it all.

Considering the country’s political history where some people were excluded from leadership on ethnic and regional grounds, power sharing had to be considered when drafting the constitution in order to avoid the winner-takes-all exclusion system. "Our constitution provides that when a political party wins parliamentary elections, it should not take more than 50 percent in the cabinet so as to allow others to contribute. He added that the system is good and working out," Biruta said.

Forum for political parties is a structure put in place to promote dialogue between political organizations operating in the country, he added.

"Each country has its away. These are home made solutions to our problems. We feel we should put in place what can work in our country not what others use. We respect democracy but we have different way of practicing it, Biruta said.

He continued that those with the assertions that there is no political space in the country might be getting the idea from political organizations which operate outside the country.

Biruta said it was the lack of resources that limited the activities of political parties. He gave an example of his party which only operates on the National, provincial, district and sector level, yet they have a right to establish offices up to village level.

He pointed out that they cannot establish offices everywhere without enough. He added that respect of diversity had created harmony in the country which had resulted in social and political stability needed in economic development.

Protais Mitali, chairman of Liberal Party (PL) said that though it was not easy for the party to restart after losing its leaders and members in the 1994 Genocide, the few who had remained came together and the party started, till 2003 when they participated in the 2003 elections.

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