Elections in Rwanda

Elections in Rwanda take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and majority of members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly-elected, whilst the Senate is indirectly-elected and partly appointed.

The Decree of 14 July 1952 by the Belgian colonial authorities introduced an element of democracy to the Rwandan political system. A complicated electoral system was created, which involved several stages of elections to eventually elect the national Superior Council; notables elected Sub-Chiefdom Councils; sub-chieds and notables elected Chiefdom Councils; sub-chiefs and Chiefdom Council members elected Territorial Councils, with chiefs and Territorial Councils electing the Superior Council member. Elections were held under this system in 1953–54 and 1956–57.

The first direct elections were held in September 1961, with MDR-Parmehutu winning 35 of the 44 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Following independence in 1962 the country became a one-party state with MDR-Parmehutu as the sole legal party. General elections were held in 1965 in which Grégoire Kayibanda was re-elected President unopposed, whilst the party won all 47 seats in the National Assembly; in the presidential elections voters could vote for or against Kayibanda's candidacy, whilst in the National Assembly elections voters could approve the entire MDR-Parmehutu list or give a preferential vote to one candidate. The 1969 elections were held under the same system with the same result.

Following a 1973 coup, the next presidential elections were held in 1978, in which voters could vote for or against the candidacy of coup leader Juvénal Habyarimana; 99% voted in favour. Parliamentary elections were delayed until 1981 and saw the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), the sole legal party, win all 64 seats. Habyarimana was re-elected with 99.97% of the vote in 1983, with parliamentary elections a week later seeing the MRND win all 70 seats. Habyarimana was re-elected again in 1988, this time with 99.98% of the vote, whilst the MRND won all 70 seats again in the parliamentary elections the following week.

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