Green Party’s chairman and presidential candidate, Frank Habineza, along with his party’s 50 parliamentary candidates on July 5 campaigned in Rulindo and Gakenke districts, promising to bring about changes in the election of local leaders and lawmakers if elected. Habineza emphasized the need for reforms in the way local leaders are elected, claiming, “People campaign as individuals but end up being representatives of specific parties.” “Elected local leaders often prioritize party interests over public service. The party proposes a law that prevents elected officials from officially representing political parties, although they can still be members.” ALSO READ: Frank Habineza: Green party is in a much stronger state this time He said that his political party also aims to increase the number of lawmakers in Parliament so as to match the demographics of their constituencies better, proposing a law that ensures one MP represents every 100,000 citizens. “There are too few deputies to effectively cover everyone,” Habineza noted. Presently, there are 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house. Jean Claude Ntezimana, a former lawmaker highlighted their party manifesto’s focus on addressing citizens’ needs through a bottom-up approach, engaging with communities to gather input. ALSO READ: Rutsiro: Habineza pledges to construct new market Jean Marie Mwiseneza, a Green Party commissioner in Northern Province, said they have several initiatives aimed at improving the well-being of Rwandans. “The party plans to subsidize cooking gas, by allowing people to purchase gas at Rwf10,000, with additional plans to make gas accessible based on individual financial capacity,” he stated. Dancille Mukanyandwi, a Rulindo resident, appreciated what she called the party’s citizen-centered manifesto and noted that she looks forward to hearing from other candidates so as to make good decisions in the July 14-15 election. Other key promises in the Green Party’s manifesto include abolishing land tax, reducing VAT from 18 percent to 14 percent, eliminating pre-trial detention and transit centers, raising salaries for health and education workers, creating more jobs, especially for youth, and reducing interest rates to 12 percent.
