Up to 63.8 percent of the 80 members of the newly elected Rwandan Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, are women, a list from the National Electoral Commission (NEC) has shown. The new development represents an increase of women MPs, up from 61 percent in the previous parliament. ALSO READ: Parliament: Which outgoing women MPs are vying for a comeback? A 2021 report dubbed ‘Women in Parliament’ published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union showed that Rwanda was the world’s leading country in terms of having the largest number of women in government positions. Besides the 63.8 percent of the country’s parliamentary seats being occupied by women, some 13 ministerial positions out of the available 32 in the current cabinet are occupied by women. Among the women MPs in the new parliament are notable names that are making a comeback, including the outspoken Christine Bakundifite, who was a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which spearheads scrutiny of government entities and officials. ALSO READ: Who is Vanessa Umuhoza, the new female youth MP Two of her counterparts, Germaine Mukabalisa and Beline Uwineza, who were also PAC members in the previous parliament are also back, in addition to Madina Ndangiza who served as the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Africa Region. Veneranda Uwamariya, a former University of Rwanda lecturer and local government official in Huye District is also back as well as Phoebe Kanyange, an experienced politician who previously served as spokesperson of the political parties’ forum. Aside from the 24 seats reserved for women parliamentarians (who are elected through an electoral college system), 27 women who vied for the 53 remaining seats were also elected to the parliament. Speaking about political parties, RPF-Inkotanyi with its allied parties has the majority of MPs in the new parliament (37), followed by the Liberal Party (PL) with five, and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) with five as well. The Ideal Democratic Party (PDI), the Democratic Green Party Rwanda (DGPR), and PS IMberakuri have two MPs, each.
