RPF primaries kick off ahead of September polls

The Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) yesterday started party primaries ahead of the parliamentary elections slated for September 16, an exercise that saw party representatives selected at cell level.The internal party elections brought together members of the RPF committees at the cell level who picked at least two candidates, a man and one woman, who will then proceed to compete with each other at the district level in a subsequent poll slated Sunday , July 14.Speaking to The New Times, Narcisse Kayihura, the chairman of RPF in Kacyiru Sector, Gasabo District, said that around 400 grassroots party delegates converged at three sites spread out across the three cells; namely, Kibaza, Kamatamu and Kamutwa.At each polling centre, about 10 prospective candidates were given equal time to present their manifesto to the electorate before the polls were conducted.After the secret ballot, the counting was held in public and the results released at the very site, he said.And the same process was observed in all the sectors across the country, according to party officials at the national level.“The elections were fair and transparent across the country,” François Ngarambe the Secretary-General of the RPF, said.Ngarambe said that prospective candidates were also allowed to present their candidature in more than one cell in the district where they reside or have business.MP Agnes Nyirabagenzi, who hails from Ruhango District, returned there to canvass for votes in her quest to return to the August House in the September pollShe won in the primary elections in Kamusenyi Cell, Byimana Sector in an exercise she said reflected “true internal democracy” that exists in the ruling political organisation.Asked about her chances of making it back to the Chamber of Deputies in the national multiparty polls, Nyirabagenzi said she was at the mercy of the electorate, and there was still a long way to go. “It is difficult to predict what will happen next; RPF members will decide and I will respect their choice.” Eligibility The RPF chairman in Ruhango, Francois Xavier Mbabazi, said the party members in the district elected candidates from different backgrounds, including teachers, businesspersons, among others.The eligible members are RPF members known for their integrity, aged at least 21 years and who were never sentenced for over six months of jail.According to Ngarambe, the primaries at the district level will see four people – two men and two women – elected in each district.A coalition led by the RPF won the 2008 parliamentary polls. The coalition included the Centrist Democratic Party (PDC), Parti du Progrès et la Concorde (PPC), the Democratic Union of the Rwandan People (UDPR), the Solidarity and Progress Party (PSP), the Workers’ Party (PSR), and the Ideal Democratic Party (PDI). Other parties that fielded candidates in the 2008 elections are the Liberal Party (PL) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD).So far, none of the political parties has publicly said they intended to join hands with another party to compete in the forthcoming polls.As is the norm, each political party is expected to draw the list of its candidates and the number of their MPs will be proportional to the votes garnered in the national poll. This category concerns 53 MPs out of 80 members.However, MPs representing special interest groups namely, women, the youth and the disabled will be picked through electoral colleges accordingly.

National

RPF primaries kick off ahead of September polls