Why election period in Rwanda is celebration time

It is just a day left on the presidential campaign period ahead of elections that will be held on August 3 for Rwandans in the Diaspora and 4th in the country. In contrast to many other countries, elections in Rwanda are akin to a carnival - as Brazilians might call a massive party. None of all the vitriol, name-calling and threat to violence that characterise many election campaigns, especially in developing countries, is evident in Rwanda. Instead, what we have is a colorful festival of contrasting roadshows and competing ideas all converging with a desire for a common goal: national renewal. That is the whole point, national renewal. Everything done every day in the country’s life invariably become humdrum and routine. The election festival gives people a chance to either retain the leadership or cast it away in a peaceful, free and even fun manner. There are many people in the country who sometimes close their businesses to join President Paul Kagame’s caravan as he crisscrosses the country in search of votes. In 2017 and more so for young people, the campaigns have assumed a different format. There is a strong sense of ownership of the electoral process and this is demonstrated amply by what many Rwandans write and post on their social media forums. In the past, people would wait for the president to come along and listen to what he had to say about his plans for their future. Today, many pull the shutters of their businesses in Kigali and join him on the road, distributing the RPF Inkotanyi manifesto, while singing and dancing to raucous music. They adorn themselves with party colors – the red, blue and white with PK for Paul Kagame prominently displayed among the paraphernalia. The throngs are mainly drawn from the private sector and the civil society, which usually does not align themselves with any political formations. And they have good reason to do so. For an outsider, it’s not easy to know why a candidate would be loved and supported this much. But there is history to it. It is RPF Inkotanyi and its leader who turned around the country after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that destroyed the social fabric of the country and started building one of the most prosperous and stable countries on the continent. Rwandans have every reason to support President Paul Kagame. Imagine a scenario where you are in extreme poverty, never thought you would manage to buy a little bit of milk but you end up receiving a cow that gives you 15 liters per day of which only four would be used at home while the rest would be sold and the money is used to cater for other needs. Imagine being born and raised in one of remotest areas of Rwanda. You have not even been to the capital city but because you scored high grades in school, you are given an opportunity to pass through Kigali to pick your travel documents on your way to the USA where you are bound to attend further studies at one of the best universities under Presidential scholarships. These are “small” examples but they matter a lot to the voters. Think about parents who never thought their children would go to school because they did not have any sources of income to pay for their fees but are now able to acquire up to secondary education at no cost. There is also free medical care that has made experts tell the likes of super powers to replicate Rwanda’s medical insurance policy for their citizens. At least 90 per cent of our population have access to medical insurance, life expectancy moved from 50 to 60 years in the last 15 years, extreme poverty was reduced by two thirds while infant mortality went down from 107 children out of 1000 live births to in 2000 to 48 in 2012 which is key pillar of millennium development goals targets. How else would people who have witnessed this transformation react to the man who has led it when he shows up in an election campaign caravan? How about the story of reconciliation where now survivors and perpetrators of the Genocide live side by side? Wounds may still be deep but survivors are forgiving those who killed their families and some of perpetrators are truly repenting and doing practical acts of reconciliation to demonstrate their remorse, a story that rings miraculously in the ears of many. Only one man took this daunting task which is now the foundation of the progress that Rwanda has registered so far and its with no reasonable doubt that true reconciliation will continue to be the foundation of everything else Rwandan people intend to achieve. That is a peek into the country’s social fabric. Political pluralism and power sharing like in Rwanda probably does not exist anywhere else. Rwanda does not implement a winner-takes-all policy, contrary to most so-called democracies. It shares power. In Rwanda, the ruling party cedes 50% of seats both in parliament and in the Cabinet on top of women representatives, youth and people living with disabilities. Since taking power, RPF has always ceded positions of Speaker of the senate, parliament and that of the Prime Minister to other parties or to neutral candidates. This kind of power sharing that leaves no one behind, including even those who have very few followers, makes all Rwandans feel included in the political process. That is the reason for backing the RPF presidential candidate. As Rwandans continue to enjoy campaign rallies with optimism for the future. The writer is the First Secretary of Rwanda High Commission to Nairobi.

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Why election period in Rwanda is celebration time