PHOTOS: PSD launches electoral campaign in Bugesera

The Social Democratic Party (PSD), on Saturday, June 22, launched its electoral campaign in Nyamata Sector, Bugesera District, in a bid to garner votes for its candidates who are looking to secure seats in the lower chamber of Parliament, in addition to endorsing incumbent President Paul Kagame’s re-election in the July elections. ALSO READ: Hundreds of candidates hit campaign trail as Rwanda gears up for general elections This was as political parties and independent candidates in different categories on Saturday started a three-week campaign trail as Rwanda gears up for presidential and parliamentary elections next month. The campaigns will conclude July 13, a day before Rwandans in the diaspora vote the Head of State and 53 Members of Parliament elected from candidates proposed by political organisations and independent candidates. People in the country will vote on July 15. The PSD campaign trail is expected end on July 13, in Nyarugenge District, at a site commonly known as Tapis Rouge in Nyamirambo. ALSO READ: RPF supporters start campaigns in France Kagame’s remarkable track record “Our party chose to endorse [President Paul] Kagame for the presidency because of his remarkable track records,” said PSD first vice-president Valens Muhakwa, citing the construction of the new airport in Bugesera District, as well as good classrooms to promote education. “We also request that you vote for PSD’s candidates so that they become members of Parliament,” he appealed to area residents. According to data from the National Electoral Commission (NEC), 589 candidates are vying for the 80 parliamentary seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Of those candidates, 345 – constituting more than half of the total – are from political organisations. PSD is fielding 59 candidates for parliamentary elections, or 17 per cent of total. In the previous elections held in 2018, PSD got five MPs in the Chamber of Deputies who won parliamentary seats through the party, representing over nine per cent of the 53 MPs elected from candidates proposed by political organisations, and independent candidates. Four PSD members got seats in Parliament under the women special interest group, accounting for more than 16 per cent of the 24 seats reserved for female MPs in the lower house. Overall, PSD was represented by nine lawmakers, more than 16 per cent of the 80 members of the Chamber of Deputies. Based on such performance, PSD was the second biggest party in terms of representation in the lower house, after the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) and parties that entered into coalition with it. ALSO READ: Nearly 600 candidates scramble for seats in Parliament Earlier in the day, miles away in Musanze District, Kagame, the Chairman and flagbearer of the governing RPF-Inkotanyi, on Saturday also started canvassing for votes ahead of next month’s presidential and legislative elections. The RPF-led coalition launched its presidential campaign at the University of Rwanda’s campus in Busogo in Musanze, Northern Province. The coalition has 80 parliamentary candidates, the majority of whom are RPF members. ALSO READ: A look at Rwanda's three presidential candidates Rwandans will go to the polls from July 14-15 to pick the next Head of State and members of the Chamber of Deputies, according to the National Electoral Commission (NEC). ALSO READ: Hundreds of candidates hit campaign trail as Rwanda gears up for general elections Kagame is vying for the presidency, along with two challengers; Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent candidate.

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PHOTOS: PSD launches electoral campaign in Bugesera