News

• Sep 08, 2010: Rwanda: Commonwealth issues final report on 2010 presidential elections, AllAfrica (2010) This article discusses the final report of the Commonwealth electoral observation mission to Rwanda. The Commonwealth Observation Group monitored the August presidential elections in the country. The Group believe that overall the poll was well-organized and peaceful. However, among other things, the observers expressed concerns for the lack of critical opposition voices.
• Sep 08, 2010: Rwanda: Kagame speaks about his election victory, claims on political repression, The Independent (2010) This article presents an interview to President Kagame. The Independent Managing Editor, Andrew M. Mwenda, questions the newly-elected president about his electoral campaign, the deaths and intimidations to opposition parties, and finally his overwhelming victory. In last month's elections, Kagame received 93% of the total votes.
• Aug 16, 2010: Rwanda: Indian community celebrate independence, Kagame victory, AlllAfrica (2010) This article reports on the celebrations of the Indian community in Rwanda. The community originally celebrated the independence, but on the same occasion the leaders decided to celebrate also Kagame's electoral victory.
• Aug 12, 2010: Rwanda's Kagame wins poll, grenade wounds 7, Reuters (2010) This article reports on the release of the final results for the August 9 presidential elections in Rwanda. President Paul Kagame was re-elected with 93% of the votes. The elections were carried out peacefully and efficiently, but on August 11 grenades were thrown in the streets of Kigali. Experts believe that the attacks were aimed at producing a political chaos.
• Aug 12, 2010: Grenade strikes Rwanda's capital two days after election, The New York Times (2010) This article reports on the grenade attack against Rwanda's capital, Kigali, two days after the elections, when the final results have been released. Three people had been arrested so far. The executive secretary of Rwanda's National Electoral Commission declared that this election has been the most peaceful in the country's history: 98% of the registered voters cast their ballot without any incident.
• Aug 11, 2010: Rwanda: Huge voter turnout as region decides, AllAfrica (2010) This article reports on the interviews and report of a team from The New York Times observing the Rwandan presidential elections. The operations in the polling stations went on smoothly and efficiently despite the high voter turnout, the reporters said.
• Aug 11, 2010: Rwanda:Elections free and fair - EAC Observers, AllAfrica (2010) This article discusses the initial report of the East African Community elections observers in Rwanda. Observers believe that Monday's elections met international standards, and were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere. Finally, the National Electoral Commission proved to have strong technical capacity.
• Aug 11, 2010: Rwanda awaits presidential vote results, CNN (2010) This article reports on the vote counting operations in Rwanda. Final results are expected to be released on Wednesday (August 11), but initial results predict a landslide victory for Paul Kagame. The Commonwealth Observation Group praised the elections as transparent and peaceful, yet admits some unsolved issues of political inclusion and press freedom.
• Aug 11, 2010: Rwanda: Initial results give Kagame 93% of votes, The Irish Times (2010) This article reports on the initial results for yesterday's presidential elections in Rwanda. President Paul Kagame appears to be the winner (with 93% of the votes), and he is set for a second seven-year term. In the last elections in 2003, he received 95% of the votes.
• Aug 10, 2010: Rwanda goes to the polls amid rising political tensions, The Washington Post (2010) This is a photo gallery of the voting operations in Rwanda. The August 9 presidential elections were carried out peacefully, and no major incident was reported.
• Aug 10, 2010: Rwandan president leads in preliminary election count, The Washington Post (2010) This article discusses the preliminary results for the Rwandan presidential elections. Current President, Paul Kagame, appears to have won an overwhelming majority (93%). Before the polls closed, Rwandan Patriotic Front's supporters were celebrating.
• Aug 09, 2010: Rwanda election set to return Kagame as president, The Guardian (2010) This article reports on the election day in Rwanda. 5 millions people will head to the polls, but no incidents has been reported so far. President Paul Kagame will likely be re-elected. During his 16-years government, the country flourished: it has seen great improvements in health and education, as well as in the empowerment of women and the fight against corruption.
• Aug 09, 2010: Rwanda: record turnout in nordic states as diaspora vote, AllAfrica (2010) This article reports on the voting operations of Rwanda voters living abroad. Rwandans from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland cast their ballots today, and the voter turnout is expected to be very high. Many Rwandans will vote for the first time in their lives.
• Aug 09, 2010: Presidental polls open in Rwanda, Aljazeera (2010) This article reports on the opening of the polls in Rwanda. On Monday, August 9, Rwandan voters will be electing the President. The African Union monitoring team declared that they did not find evidence to support the latest claims of intimidation made by the opposition parties. Rights groups and foreign diplomats, on the other hand, denounced pre-poll intimidation and a general climate of fear.
• Aug 09, 2010: Rwandan officials promise free, fair and transparent election monday, VOA News (2010) This article reports on the Rwandan authorities' belief that the Monday presidential elections will be free and fair. The Rwanda National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced that everything is ready in term of preparation.
• Aug 06, 2010: Rwanda: AU election observers arrive, AllAfrica (2010) This article reports on the arrival of the African Union's electoral observation mission in Rwanda. The 20-member mission will observe the August 9 presidential elections. The team will have delicate tasks, as many observers have criticized the President Kagame's management of these elections.
• Aug 05, 2010: Rwandan President vows to crush troublemakers ahead of Monday's vote, VOA News (2010) This article discusses Paul Kagame's announcement that he will crush any attempt to undermine Monday's elections in Rwanda. This statement was a response to the opposition leaders' and his former intelligence chief's call for an uprising against Mr. Kagame's government.
• Aug 03, 2010: Four candidates but only one voice as Rwanda prepares for elections, The Daily Nation (2010) This article reports on the election campaign in Rwanda. In this four-party campaign, observers says that it is difficult to tell one programme from another. Three candidates are competing, but Paul Kagame already appears to be the likely winner.
• Aug 03, 2010: Rwanda's Paul Kagame center of controversial election, VOA (2010) This article discusses the controversial election campaign in Rwanda. In the past few weeks, journalists and opposition leaders have been either incarcerated or murdered. Paul Kagame, who won the 2003 presidential elections with 95% of the votes, is virtually the only real candidate.
• Aug 02, 2010: Five million to vote in Rwanda polls, The Daily Nation (2010) This article reports on the elections in Rwanda. The National Electoral Commission declared that five million people registered to vote, for the upcoming presidential elections.
• Jul 30, 2010: Rwanda: Local Election Observer Group launched, AllAfrica (2010) This article reports on the creation of the National Election Observation Mission in Rwanda. The Civil Society Election Observation Mission officially launched this mission to observe and monitor the upcoming election. The mission will also produce startegic analysis and report on the electoral processes.
• Jul 30, 2010: Rwanda's rebel reformer: Paul Kagame, TIME (2010) This article presents Paul Kagame, the most popular candidate for the upcoming presidential elections in Rwanda. Kagame's government has been highly criticized in the last weeks, as opposition leaders and journalists were incarcerated or murdered. But is it fair to make a comparison of him to the continent's notorious "Big Men"?
• Jul 30, 2010: Rwanda: over 200,000 to vote without ID, AllAfrica (2010) This article discusses the National Electoral Commission's decision to let 235,237 Rwandan citizens vote despite their not having national Identity Cards. A total of 5.2 million Rwandans are expected to vote in the upcoming presidential elections (1.3 million more than in the 2003 elections).
• Jul 29, 2010: Rwanda: Parties select 100 to observe elections, AllAfrica (2010) This article reports on the decision of the Rwandan Forum for Political Parties (FFPP) to select 100 observers for the upcoming Presidential elections. The observers will monitor the preparations, the participation and the final results. The National Electoral Commission is currently training 70,000 officials to deploy in the 16,000 polling stations.
• Jul 29, 2010: Salim to head Commonwealth team to Rwanda, The Citizen (2010) This article comments the nomination of Former Prime Minister Salim Ahmed Salim to lead the Commonwealth observation mission in Rwanda. The National Electoral Commission of Rwanda invited the Commonwealth to observe the elections. The 14-members mission will observe preparations for the election, the polling, counting of ballots and announcement of results, and make recommendations on the overall management of the elections.
• Jul 29, 2010: Doubts over democracy as Rwanda's election looms, The Irish Times (2010) This article discusses the preparations for the August 9 presidential elections in Rwanda. Rwandan voters will go the polls to elect the President for the second time since the 1994 genocide. International observers are questioning the fairness and transparency of these elections: opposition leaders and journalists have been either murdered or arrested.
• Jul 23, 2010: Rwanda: RPF Supporters Bring Karongi to a Standstill, All Africa (2010) A group of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) members and supporters took to the streets of the Karongi district to support incumbent President Paul Kagame. Kagame is expected to campaign in the district early next week.
• Jul 21, 2010: Rwandan president promises elections will be free and fair, The Irish Times (2010) President Paul Kagame has insisted that the upcoming presidential election will be free and fair. Human rights groups have raised concerns over the recent murders of opposition figures ahead of the August 9 election.
• Jul 21, 2010: Paul Kagame: Rwandans 'free to decide' at election, BBC News (2010) Current president Paul Kagame and his government have denied involvement in a number of acts of violence that are believed to be politically motivated. Members have expressed concern over the incidents ahead of the upcoming election;president Critics insist that the elections will not be fair.
• Jul 20, 2010: Opposition Leader Urges Rwandans to Boycott August Vote, VOA (2010) The leader of the unregistered opposition Victoire Ingabire has encouraged voters to boycott the upcoming election as she believes it will be manipulated by the current administration. The government has attempted to prosecute her under Rwanda's genocide denial law.
• Jul 09, 2010: Rwanda's Kagame to Face 3 Challengers in Election, VOA (2010) The electoral commission has cleared 4 candidates, including sitting president Paul Kagame, to run in the upcoming elections on August 9. Some critics have accused Kagame of limiting freedom of expression ahead of the vote.
• Jun 24, 2010: Rwanda: Civil Society Lines Up 540 Election Observers, All Africa (2010) More than 500 election observers will be deployed for the August 9 presidential elections. Some will monitor the election day while others will focus on pre-election activities.
• Jun 17, 2010: Rwanda:NEC to Conduct Special Registration for Students, All Africa (2010) This article discusses efforts by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to properly register students ahead of the August presidential elections.
• Jun 08, 2010: Rwandan Opposition Seeks Inclusion Ahead of Poll, VOA (2010) The articled discusses efforts by the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda to register to run in the August 9 presidential election. The party claims that the government has prevented them from registering for the past ten months.
• Jun 08, 2010: Rwanda Liberal Party select presidential candidate, Angola Press (2010) This article discusses the candidate chosen by the Liberal Party to run against President Paul Kagame in the August 9 election.
• Jun 03, 2010: Rwanda: Workshop Gives Rwandan Media Tips on Reporting Elections, All Africa (2010) This article discusses a workshop held for media in Rwanda to train them in effectively reporting the upcoming elections.
• May 27, 2010: Commonwealth to send observers to Rwanda, Capitol News (2010) This article discusses the announcement that Commonwealth election observers will be deployed for the August 9 presidential vote. (From Agence France Presse)
• May 20, 2010: Opposition Calls for Delay in Rwandan Poll, VOA (2010) Opposition parties are calling for a postponement of the August 9 presidential elections in Rwanda. The opposition has cited political repression as the reason for their requested delay.
• Apr 30, 2010: Rwanda denies political crisis before August vote, Washington Post (2010) Rwanda denied there was a political crisis in the run-up to the August presidential election despite the arrest of top military officers and an alleged clampdown on opposition and independent media.
• Mar 25, 2010: Political Parties Forum Gears Up for Election, allafrica (2010) As Rwandans begin the countdown to the next Presidential elections, the country's Forum For Political Parties (FFPP) says that preparations are in high gear with the forum providing financial and civil assistance to all parties under its umbrella. The Forum for Political Organizations is constitutionally recognized in Rwanda as a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas among political organizations on the country's problems and national policies
• Mar 10, 2010: Rwanda: Kigali talks seek ways to back Sudan in upcoming elections, The EastAfrican (2010) A retreat of special representatives of the African Union and the United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur has agreed that the conflict in Darfur must be addressed in a more holistic manner in order to prevent it from interfering with Sudan’s April elections
• Mar 01, 2010: Rwanda: A reluctant Kagame awaits ruling party’s nod, The EastAfrican (2010) Rwandan President Paul Kagame says he will only seek re-election in the August 2010 presidential polls if his party, the Rwanda Patriotic Force (RPF) picks him as its flag bearer.
• Feb 11, 2010: Rwanda Opposition Candidate Demands Protection Ahead of Election, VOA News (2010) This article discusses about next coming Rwanda elections and the leader of Rwanda’s opposition United Democratic Forces demands protection ahead of the scheduled August general election.
• Jan 20, 2010: Rwanda: NEC warns against breaching election guidelines, The New Times (2010) The National Electoral Commission has warned political parties who act contrary to the stipulated guidelines during elections, that they will be deregistered. According to the Commission, instead of sabotaging elections, the parties should strive to use the proper procedures in place.
• Jan 14, 2010: Rwanda/Uganda: K'la mission braces for major election exercise, The New Times (2010) The Rwandan High Commission in Uganda has planned a voter registration exercise for Rwandans residing in Uganda so that they can take part in the upcoming presidential elections in Rwanda in August 2010. Over 5.2 million Rwandans are expected to take part in the presidential polls, which is a 1.3 million increase from 2003.
• Dec 14, 2009: Critics allege Rwanda's ruling party hindering opposition democracy participation, VOA News (2009) Shortly after President Kagame was re-elected chairman of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, critics started to voice their accusations of the ruling party hindering the opposition's full participation in democracy. The concerns are growing stronger as the general election is coming up in 2010, in which Kagame will be a presidential candidate due to his re-election as a chairman of RPF.