Two opposition parties namely Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) and PS-Imberakuri failed to secure 5% required for a seat.
All four independent candidates scored below 1% as PSD and PL won 8.5% and 7% respectively, in the preliminary results announced last night by the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
NEC President Prof. Kalisa Mbanda said DGPR and PS Imberakuri tied at 4.5% each.
“All four independent candidates have fewer votes than required for them to enter the parliament. Tomorrow’s counts can’t change anything for them to secure a seat,” he said.
The candidates included Philippe Mpayimana who also scored below 1% in the last year’s presidential elections.
Without specifying on the votes share, Prof. Mbanda said that with Diaspora votes, RPF also leads in 25 countries reported so far.
The ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) has other six parties in its coalition.
The six are PDI, PSR, PDC, PPC, UDPR and PSP.
According to the preliminaries, little change can be expected in the next 80-seat Lower House compared to the last.
In the parliament’s term that ended last month, RPF had absolute majority with 41 seats out of 53 contested in general elections by parties and independent candidates.
RPF and its then allied parties— PDI, PSR, PPC, PDC— had won 76.2% votes in 2013, slightly above the yesterday’s 75% in the preliminaries.
PSD and PL had seven and five seats respectively.
Diaspora voted on Sunday while voters in Rwanda cast votes on Monday.
According to Xinhua, President Kagame described the summit as timely since there is “need for cooperation more than ever” as some countries make clear their intention to serve themselves first over other countries.
Established since 2000, FOCAC the Forum for Africa-China Cooperation, FOCAC, is a meeting between the two partners and is largely premised on ways to increase diplomatic, economic and bilateral ties.
The head of State said that China and Africa share a common aspiration for development and stability. With a solid foundation in place for China-Africa cooperation, Kagame said he expects the summit, set for Sept. 3-4, to further expand the scope of cooperation and do “better and more of what we are doing well now.”
FOCAC emphasizes a form where countries come together for cooperation, carrying a positive message for the whole world, he added.
On Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Rwanda in July, President Kagame said it “offered us a great opportunity to discuss and strengthen our friendship and cooperation” at the bilateral level and beyond. The visit was the first to the African country by a Chinese head of state.
On Rwanda-China relations, President Kagame called it a “productive partnership” of mutual benefit, observing that it has brought great benefits to Rwandans.
{{AU reforms fit well with China cooperation
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President Kagame, who is also the Chairman of the African Union (AU) elaborated on his goal for institutional reform of the continental bloc, noting that the ongoing reform of the AU fits very well with the continent’s cooperation with China.
He said that there was a lot of strength in unity, and AU member states need to work closely for a better future of the continent.
“We should be able to take care of ourselves”. Kagame said
Preliminary results announced Sunday evening by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) show that Mussolini won 75.6% votes equivalent to 485 individuals from the voting representatives of people with disabilities around the country.
Having physical disability himself, Mussolini defeated nine candidates including Gaston Rusiha who was an MP in the immediate last term.
NEC President Prof. Kalisa Mbanda said the poll for the representation of people with disabilities started at 10 am and closed around midday in the districts across the country.
He said the elections were held in a peaceful and transparent environment.
Mussolini has been the Executive Secretary of the National Council of People with Disabilities (NCPD) in Gasabo District, Kigali.
He doubled as a member of Gasabo advisory council.
The voting council of people with disabilities consists of 668 but only 641 participated in the poll yesterday, representing 96% of the total voters.
People with disabilities have one representative in the parliament as the Constitution puts it.
Rwanda’s Parliament consists of 106 parliamentarians of who 80 are elected for a 5 year term in the lower chamber. The lower chamber includes 53 MPs elected in general elections, 2 representatives of the youth, 24 representing women and one representing people with disability.
General elections, started in a special way as a great number of early-risers were already positioned at polling stations, at 5 a.m.
{{How Elections are going in different parts of the country
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Several dignitaries, officials have started voting.
-* First ever polling stations in hospitals
At least 33 polling stations have been opened in hospitals for the parliamentary elections. The stations help especially patients, their caregivers and hospitals’ workers to cast their votes.
Agnes Nyiraneza who was due for a sonogram session at Muhima Hospital welcomed the initiative.
“I had already decided not to vote since I usually leave the hospital at a late hour, but now I will be able to vote.” She said
Pacifique Gashirabake who is in charge Civic Education in Muhima Sector said “Every sick person is entitled to come here. Even if the person is too sick, we will help him/her to vote.”
{{Progress
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Rachid Mugemana aged 75, has already voted at Groupe Scolaire de Kimironko II.
Speaking to IGIHE, he said that although much has been accomplished, in the country, MPs need to continue speaking for citizens and see that their concerns are addressed.
Over 11 742 voters are expected at the polling station where Dr Frank Habineza, President of Green Party, voted from.
In all parts of the country, voting has started. Intrepid ones who arrived early at polling stations, are on their way home.
{{Elders first at Polling Stations
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Suzanne Niyonteze aged 66 from Gitwa cell, Tumba sector arrived at 5 a.m.
“I feel like I have to be the first one in all good things. From here, I am going straight to my business and work in peace.”
Eastern Province’ Governor, Fred Mufulukye on a line, together with locals to vote
07:00: Voting starts all over Rwanda
06:50: Electoral volunteers from Kabusunzu Site have arrived in Nyarugenge District, Kigali where they will be working.
Electoral Volunteers from Rusizi .
In Rwamagana, observers from the Embassy of the United States of America have arrived at the polling stations.
06:40: In Rusizi, 96 polling stations and 598 electoral rooms have been set ready in colorful embellishments for the elections. In Buranga, voters have already arrived, waiting for the hour to vote (7 a.m). 7542 voters are expected to turn out at the station.
06:30: At Giporoso Station, those who came to vote have started forming lines, waiting for Elections to start.
06:10: In Kigali, in Gatenga High school, 7000 voters are expected to turn in the 12 polling stations. Up to now, electoral volunteers together with some locals have arrived.
{{Electoral rooms opened 6 a.m.
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05:50: Rwamagana, early risers have joined Islamic polling station. Some of them were requesting polls to start at 6 a.m sharp, for them to go on with their works.
Parliamentary general elections are taking place tomorrow in the country but the Diaspora usually votes a day before.
Rwandans in New Zealand were the first to vote this Sunday. They convened at the polling station at 9am there, that was 11pm on Saturday in Rwanda.
President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette have also voted from Beijing where the couple is participating in China-Africa Summit, FOCAC2018.
{{Elsewhere in the world, casting votes is going on
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-* In Egypt, Rwandans were casting their votes in Cairo at their Embassy’s Headquarters. Elections started from 9 a.m to 3p.m. Over 111 voters turned out in the elections.
-* In Congo Brazzaville, Rwandans are voting as well.
-* In Canada too, Rwandans were voting
-*Ambassador to Sweden, Christine Nkurikiyinka, casts vote.
-* Ambassador to Netherlands, Jean Pierre Karabaranga and other Rwandans there vote in for MPs.
-* Ambassador to India, Erneste Rwamucyo casts vote. More Rwandans in India vote in parliamentary elections on Sunday.
-* In Brussels and Liège, Belgium, Rwandans led by Ambassador Amandin Rugira vote. Belgium is home to one of the largest Rwanda’s Diaspora. Over 3,500 voters are expected to vote from Belgium.
-* In Paris, France, one Claudette Murekatete voted first out of 400 voters expected there.
-* In Moscow, Russia, Rwandans are voting as well.
-** Ambassador James Kimonyo leads Rwandan community in Kenya in the vote.
{{In Ankara, Turkey, Rwandans are voting.}}
-* New Zealand, 10 hours ahead of Rwanda, was the first to open the poll.
Speaking from New Zealand, Egide Kalisa told IGIHE that they got all the poll requirements from their embassy in Singapore on time. Kalisa was the first to vote among all Rwandans in Diaspora.
Rwandan youth in New Zealand in blissful faces after casting their votes.
L_R, Kevin Hazikimana, Flora Uwase, Allan Hakizimana and Godfrey Tahabwisi.
-* Rwandans in Tokyo, Japan, also voted early Sunday
-* Seoul in South Korea, Rwandans are voting for the 80-seat Lower House for the next five-year term.
-* Uganda, Rwandans are casting votes. There are 800 voters.
-* In Rwanda, polling stations have been set ready in colourful embellishments for the elections tomorrow.
Sunday and Monday polls will decide 53 seats. The 53 are sought by an RPF-lead coalition of seven parties, four other parties apart and four independent candidates.
The Head of state is in Beijing to attend the prestigious summit dubbed ‘Forum for Africa-China Cooperation, FOCAC’ hosted by the Chinese government.
Early in the morning, Rwandans based overseas descended to different polling stations located at embassies and consulates to vote for members of the august house.
Due to global time zone differences, Rwandans in New-Zealand were the first to cast their votes while it was night in Kigali. They were at their polling stations at 9a.m in the morning, being Saturday, 11 p.m in Rwanda.
In other places such as Tokyo, Rwandans also turned out early and in great numbers to vote for their candidates.
In Auckland, Rwandans gathered at 9 a.m to vote in proceedings that were said to be peaceful, according to Egide Kalisa, as they were given every necessity by their Embassy located in Singapour.
There are 46,955 voters expected to vote from 115 polling stations in Diaspora, up from last year’s 44,362 in 98 stations in presidential elections.
The Forum for Africa-China Cooperation, FOCAC, is a meeting between the two partners and is largely premised on ways to increase diplomatic, economic and bilateral ties.
The prestigious summit is set to officially kick off from September 3 through to September 4. Themed “China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation.”, this year’s edition aims to build a closer China-Africa relationship, set a new path for a higher level of both continents’ cooperation and deepen people-to-people exchanges.
For Rwanda, the summit is special. Relations between Rwanda and China have been growing over the past 46 years with the later supporting several development projects in Rwanda ranging from Infrastructure, Health, Education and Economy. In January, China offered Rwanda to construct a $37 million modern complex as the office for the Prime Minister. Once complete, the building will serve as an Administrative Office for the Prime Minister, other ministries and government institutions.
The summit is seen largely as key diplomatic event hosted by China this year and attended by the largest number of foreign leaders to date.
African leaders already in Beijing have held different levels of talks with their Chinese counterparts signing deals and also meeting investors.
The summit will conclude with the signing of a declaration and an action plan, providing guidelines for China-Africa cooperation for the next three years.
The documents are expected to build on the outcomes of the Johannesburg summit, during which Xi announced 10 major cooperation plans to promote industrialization and agricultural modernization in Africa. Most of the plans have been implemented.
The country is receiving millions of visitors every year, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in the national coffers.
The figures are increasing even further, thanks to different mechanism including the recent migration policy that provides all visitors with visas upon arrival.
But the progress doesn’t just come out of chances; efforts are bearing fruits. And figures have it clear in five points.
{{Safety }}
Gallup’s Law and Order Index 2017, ranked Rwanda as the fifth safest country in the world with the score of 87/100.
The same American firm ranked Rwanda as second with safe people in Africa.
Figures indicate that foreign aid to Rwanda is in a more manageable range than any other country in the region.
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings 2018 graded Rwanda’s economy outlook as positive with B.
World Economic Forum (WEF) 2016 report ranked Rwanda Government as the most effective in Africa and seventh globally.
WEF also ranked Rwanda National Police as the most trusted in Africa and 13th globally.
{{Growing economy
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Rwanda’s economy has recently emerged the second fastest growing in Africa.
Ibrahim Index 2017 put Rwanda atop in Africa for having developed all sectors over the previous five years.
African Union (AU) report ranked Rwanda as the first among 54 countries for having implemented effectively nine resolutions aiming at developing agriculture. The resolutions were adopted in 2014 at the AU Summit of Heads of State and Governments in Guinea.
{{Doing Business
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The World Bank’s Doing Business report 2018 ranked Rwanda 41st globally and second in Africa.
Rwanda Development Board reports that it is currently taking a maximum of six hours to register a new company.
Ministry of ICT reports 96% internet coverage countrywide.
Global Gender Gap 2017 ranked Rwanda as fourth globally and first in Africa in bridging gender gaps.
{{Rwanda in integration
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It will always remain in the history of Africa that 44 AU member states convened in Kigali and signed the declaration on Africa Continental Free Trade Area on March 21, 2018.
Rwanda is among 50 countries that have so far ratified the declaration.
Rwanda has developed a national carrier, Rwandair, that connects it to many countries on the continent and beyond.
Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, has fascinated foreigners with its beauty, cleanliness and infrastructure, setting it on the third position in Africa for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions, according to ICCA report of May, 2018.
{{Natural resources
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Different reports have indicated that Rwanda has natural raw materials for industries.
The country is home to rare mountain gorillas. The recent census indicated that the gorilla population in Volcanoes Park was at 604 in 2016, up from 480 in 2010.
The gorillas attract a large portion of the tourists who stood at 1.5 million in 2017.
Presenting the bank’s performance, Dr. Diane Karusisi, managing director and CEO of Bank of Kigali, said the increase was enabled by Customers’ trust, solid growth on the entire group’s business lines as well as effective cost management.
“Our net loans grew by 6.8 per cent to Rwf481.2billion. In the same period, customer deposits increased by 3.8 per cent to Rwf472.3 billion compared to the same period, last year. The total assets stand at Rwf731.8 billion which represents a growth of 1.7 per cent year-on-year,” Karusisi announced
The bank’s first quarter statistics indicate that the total assets stood at Rwf6.0 billion as of which represents a significant growth of 7.7 year on year.
“We will remain focused on innovation and digitalization to further drive growth, efficiency gains and cost optimization in all the subsidiaries.” Karusisi observed
To maintain their top position on the market, Bank of Kigali Group PLC is presenting a secondary offer, which includes the cross-listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and is scheduled to start this year.
BK will be the first Rwandan company to cross-list in Nairobi and therefore offer Regional and global investors a new opportunity to participate in Rwanda’s growth story.
Presenting the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement (MPFSS) of the first half of 2018 on Thursday, Central Bank Governor John Rwangombwa said the performance was driven by the 12.0% growth in the service sector, 8.0% in agriculture and industry’s 7.0% growth.
The Composite Index of Economic Activity increased by 15.4% from 7.8% registered in the same period of 2017.
The country’s formal trade deficit reduced by 2.0% in the first half of 2018 compared to the corresponding period of 2017.
Formal exports increased by 23.2% in the first half of 2018. In the same period, non-traditional exports increased by 19.1%.
Governor Rwangombwa said that Rwanda’s financial system remains safe and sound, pointing at the profits increase among banks, micro-finance institutions (MFIs) and insurance companies in the first half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2017.
As of June 2018, the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 21.4% for banks and 32.5% for MFIs compared to the 15% prudential benchmark.
Banking sector Liquidity Coverage Ratio stood at 299.5% in June 2018, compared to the 100% prudential requirement. The liquidity ratio of MFIs stood at 103% in June 2018, compared to the 30 percent prudential limit.
The solvency position of private insurers increased to 149% in June 2018 compared to 61% registered in June 2017.
Non Performing Loan ratio in banks dropped to 6.9% from 8.2% in June 2017. The ration in MFIs reduced from 12.3% to 8%.
Financial sector profits, combining banks, MFIs and insurance, increased from Rwf40.2 billion in June 2017 to Rwf50.6 billion in June 2018.
The banking sector profits increased from Rwf21.5 billion to Rwf22.9 billion.
The MFI sector rebounded from a loss of Rwf118 million in the first half of 2017 to a profit of Rwf3.3 billion in the first half of 2018.
The insurance sector profits increased from Rwf18.6 billion in the first half of 2017 to Rwf24.5 billion in the first half of 2018.
Rwangombwa said exchange rate pressures remain moderate. By end of June 2018, Rwandan franc depreciated by 1.7% against the US dollar. The depreciation is predicted at 4.0% maximum by end of December while the inflation is projected not to exceed the medium term objective of 5%.
Central Bank Governor presents Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement twice a year to highlight updates on economic and financial developments and future prospects thereof.
