Officials of the electoral commission told a news conference on Wednesday that two candidates from the small opposition Democratic Green party had been elected.

However, the RPF, which has held a tight grip on the country since it fought its way to power to end the genocide, won 40 seats, together with smaller allied parties, the commission said.

The parliament of Rwanda consists of two chambers; the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, and some 365 candidates registered from five political parties and a few independents contested the election.

Rwanda’s parliament has 80 seats. Political parties compete for 53 seats and another 24 are reserved for women, two for youth and one for the disabled.

Another small party, PS Imberakuri, also won two seats for the first time. However, it has generally been considered pro-government since its founder and ardent opposition figure Bernard Ntaganda was dismissed from the party.

Democratic Green chief Frank Habineza, one of the newly-elected lawmakers, set modest targets for the party.

“I think it is a positive step forward. They have allowed – I mean two new political parties have been able to enter parliament for the first time,” he said.

“Our say was rarely given consideration because we lacked power. Now we will continue our work in parliament by participating in formulation of laws and policies that are in the spirit of democracy, freedom and development,” Habineza, who was a presidential candidate last year” He added.

Habineza had won only 0.45 percent of the vote in last year’s presidential election, which was won by Kagame with 99 percent.

Source : NewsAfrica