Rwanda’s politics mature - NURC

THE president of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, Bishop John Rucyahana, has commended Rwanda’s politics as being mature basing on the recent presidential campaigns and elections. Rucyahana said the campaigns and elections were conducted peacefully and that this is an indication that Rwanda’s politics has grown mature enough to take the country to a higher level that African countries can learn from. NURC was one of the institutions charged to steer Rwandans to exercise their rights through voting peacefully. “The campaigns and elections went the way it was planned, it really was well organized and as far as unity and reconciliation is concerned, we were very happy about them,” said the Bishop. “The campaigns were not based on ethnicity, but rather the candidates engaged on developmental programmes, and this shows maturity.” Rucyahana, however, said that more work still needed there is on unity and reconciliation. “We should work very hard in recovering the dignity of the citizens and pay no attention to the mockery of people who are trying to stop the country from moving forward in terms of the development and democracy Rwanda is registering.” According to the report by the foreign election observers, elections were free and fair, Paul Kagame winning 93 percent of the vote in presidential elections to secure a second seven-year term. Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) was second with 5.15 percent of the vote, while the Liberal Party’s Prosper Higiro won 1.37 percent in third place, according to the National Electoral Commission Ends