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Parliamentary elections were held in Rwanda between 29 September and 2 October 2003. They were the first parliamentary elections since 1988 and the second multi-party national elections in the country's history. They were held following the approval of a new constitution in a referendum in August 2003.
The result was a victory for the Rwandan Patriotic Front-led coalition, which won 40 of the 53 elected seats in the new Chamber of Deputies, and eighteen of the 27 reserved for women, youth and the handicapped.[1] Voter turnout was 96.5%.
Electoral system
The 80 members of the Chamber of Deputies consisted of 53 directly-elected members elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency, 24 women elected by electoral colleges, and three members elected by mini-committees, two of which represented youth and one represented disabled people.[1]
Campaign
AA total of 230 candidates contested the 53 directly-elected seats, with the official campaigning period starting on 5 September 2003.[1]
Results
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| RPF Coalition | Rwandan Patriotic Front | 2,774,661 | 73.78 | 33 | ||
| Centrist Democratic Party | 3 | |||||
| Ideal Democratic Party | 2 | |||||
| Democratic Union of the Rwandan People | 1 | |||||
| Rwandan Socialist Party | 1 | |||||
| Social Democratic Party | 463,067 | 12.31 | 7 | |||
| Liberal Party | 396,978 | 10.56 | 6 | |||
| Party for Progress and Concord | 83,563 | 2.22 | 0 | |||
| Independents | 42,333 | 1.13 | 0 | |||
| Reserved seats | 27 | |||||
| Total | 3,760,602 | 100.00 | 80 | |||
| Valid votes | 3,760,602 | 98.48 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 58,001 | 1.52 | ||||
| Total votes | 3,818,603 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 3,958,058 | 96.48 | ||||
| Source: African Elections Database | ||||||
References
- 1 2 3 Rwanda: Elections held in 2003 Inter-Parliamentary Union
