As the parliamentary polls draw closer, Social Democratic Party (PSD) officials have vowed to put up a spirited campaign to ensure they get more legislators in parliament after the September elections. PSD, which polled 13 per cent in the previous parliamentary elections held in 2013, has the second biggest representation in parliament after a coalition of political parties led by RPF Inkotanyi. The 13 per cent score earned them seven seats of the 53 that were directly competed for through universal adult suffrage. They also got four seats through the college ballot for women representatives. The general elections for legislators will take place on September 2 and 3 for Rwandans in the diaspora and those in the country, respectively, according to the National Electoral Commission (NEC). During an interview last week, Dr. Jean Chrisostome Ngabitsinze, the party’s secretary general told The New Times that preparations at the party level started as far back as February. He said that party members from across the country are in high spirits and that their aim is to have much more seats in the forthcoming parliament. “We started preparations in February when we held a congress that was followed by another one in March to confirm candidates to field in the elections,” he said during the interview. He added that initially, there were a total of 92 candidates who wished to run in the campaign but 80 of them were selected and confirmed by the party congress. For anyone to be a party candidate they have to be an active member for at least two years and regularly pay contributions among other criteria. “We are ready to submit (to NEC) our list of candidates and we hope we will secure more seats this time round; we have good candidates and we will come up with a strong manifesto that will attract more voters to rally behind us,” he said. “Our aim is to get more seats than those we have in this expiring term and we are optimistic we will secure them,” he added. PSD was formed in 1991 at the time the government of the day opened up multi-party dispensation and was key in pushing for political reforms in the government of the day. After the Genocide, the party joined the other political organization to form the transitional government and the national assembly. The party backed RPF-Inkotanyi in 2003 presidential elections but in 2010, it fielded its own candidate in Dr Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo who garnered 5 per cent of the vote. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
