Historic election result for Rwandan women

Progress for Women Is Progress for All

Historic election result for Rwandan women

Women contesting Rwanda’s second parliamentary elections since the 1994 genocide secured 45 out of the 80 seats available, making the incoming parliament the first in the world to have women in the majority.

Historic election result for Rwandan women Rwanda’s constitution provides for a 30% minimum quota for women in parliament, translating to 24 seats. In the run-up to the September general election gender advocates called on parties not only to have equal representation of women in their party lists, but also to position them close to the top so that whatever the result all parties would be able to ensure the presence of women representatives. The ruling party in Rwanda’s government, the Rwanda Patriotic Front, placed a woman at the head of its list and 17 of the 42 seats it won went to women. Of the further 3 seats won by women in the election, 2 went to the Social Democratic Party, and 1 to the Liberal Party.

Preparations for the election were managed by the National Women’s Council (CNF) which is attached to the Ministry for Gender and Family Promotion. The 114 eligible women candidates were fielded from Rwanda’s five provinces, and were required to develop manifestos and campaign in their respective provinces to win the allocated seats. Under the One UN Fund framework, UNIFEM partnered with the CNF and PROFEMMES, a civil society organisation, to conduct training for the women candidates to strengthen their campaigning skills ahead of the election. The women appreciated UNIFEM’s support in promoting women’s empowerment and participation in the leadership and governance of their country.

“Our aim is not 70% or 80% representation in Parliament as people may think. What we care about is competent women with appropriate capacities – and those who were elected have that capacity,” said CNF President Oda Gasinzigwa in response to the election results. The EU observer mission’s preliminary report stated that the elections were generally well prepared and held in a peaceful and calm environment. The Chief Observer, Michael Cashman, congratulated the Government of Rwanda on its achievement in women’s representation in Parliament.

The election results were announced formally by the National Electoral Commission on 25^th September. 98.5% of the 4,769,228 registered voters participated in the elections which were held from 15-18^th September.

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