PL, PSD make public lists of flag bearers

KIGALI - Both the Liberal Party (PL) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) have made provisional lists of their candidates who will be running in the Parliamentary polls next month. The lists are supposed to be submitted to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) not later than Thursday August 21 as this is the deadline that was set for both Parties and individual candidates. The lists made available to The New Times comes after the coalition of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) and six other parties completed their 80-member list. According to the PL Secretary General, Leopold Ndoruhirwe, they intend to submit the list to NEC within the next few days.“We shall submit it in about two days from today (yesterday),” he said. Notable among the PL candidates are Youth Minister Protais Mitali who tops the list, and former Information Minister, Prof. Laurent Nkusi at number seven. Henriette Mukamurangwa Sebera who sits on the PL National Executive Committee said that the party has reorganized following the infighting among senior officials that rocked it earlier in the year. The wrangles in the Party occurred when elections results of the Executive Committee were contested by some of its top officials resulting in the dismissal of its treasurer, Elie Ngirabakunzi and Isaie Murashi from Parliament. The duo later sued the Party but subsequently lost the case. “We have managed to put everything in place and we think the suspension of some Party members will have no impact on the election outcome,” said Sebera who lies fourth on the party list. She represents the Southern Province on the PL Executive Committee. PL had six Parliamentarians in the House that was dissolved last week among them three women. PSD top figure not on list Meanwhile, vocal and prominent figures in the PSD have not featured on its provisional list of Parliamentary candidates. Those left out include party stalwarts former Health Minister, Dr. Abel Dushimimana, vocal MP Aaron Makuba and François Nduwumwe. Health Minister, Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo leads the PSD tentative list that is yet to be submitted to NEC. In a related development, the NEC acting Executive Secretary Charles Munyaneza said that no political Party had submitted a list of its candidates by yesterday afternoon. “We only have lists of candidates of women, the disabled and youth representatives; the women representatives’ candidates are 30, youths are 7 while the disabled are 6,” said Munyaneza. He also revealed that by yesterday morning, no independent candidate had submitted their candidature to NEC. Ends