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Rwanda: Feeble opposition as Kagame retains party chairmanship

By David Kezio Musoke
Daily Monitor Correspondent
Kigali, Rwanda
December 14, 2009

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has been re-elected as chairman of the ruling party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) to serve for four years.

Mr Kagame was re-elected by a majority of party supporters in an RPF general assembly that attracted over 2,000 members on Saturday in the capital, Kigali.

He garnered over 90 per cent of the votes cast, while his only challenger, Abdul Kharim Harelimana, a member of the East African Legislative Assembly, collected less than two per cent of the votes.

According to information availed to Daily Monitor, Mr Christophe Bazivamo, a cabinet minister, was elected the vice chairman of the party, a post he has held since 2002. Mr François Ngarambe was elected secretary general. Both candidates stood unopposed.

The party congress also elected a twelve-member team of commissioners who will each be in charge of different commissions within RPF structures.

They include Adbul Kharim Harelimana, Tito Rutaremara, the government Ombudsman, Charles Murigande, Aloysea Inyumba, Domitalla Mukanaganzwa, Chrysologue Karangwa and James Musoni the new Minister of Local Government.

The New Times, Rwanda’s only English daily newspaper quoted Mr Kagame as saying the RPF had made Rwandans regain their value and reputation and that the country was gaining recognition on the world stage for its good acts, unlike in the past.

“It is now that we, Rwandans, have the value we deserve—we design our own solutions that are seen and appreciated by everyone. You go to China, Europe, US, Australia—Rwanda is known and known today, for its good acts,” the paper quotes Mr Kagame as saying.

“This did not come out of the blue—it came from the devotion and hard work of you the RPF members and our other colleagues in government, working jointly for transformation of our country.”

Mr Kagame’s nod to the party’s leadership comes a few months to Rwanda’s 2010 presidential elections.

However as party chairman, Mr Kagame does not automatically become the party’s flag bearer for the presidential elections.

Though party officials said they would convene again to consider a candidate for next year’s presidential polls, Mr Kagame has repeatedly said that he is yet to make up his mind on whether to stand or not.

The President said during a recent press conference that his standing would largely depend on the choice of the party. Mr Kagame is currently serving his first term as president. The country’s constitution allows one to rule for maximum two terms each of seven years.

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posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 12:32 AM