RWANDAN PRESIDENT'S PARTY IS VICTORIOUS

October 1, 2003 – (AP) The ruling party of President Paul Kagame won nearly three-fourths of the vote in Rwanda's first multiparty legislative elections since independence from Belgium in 1962, election officials said Wednesday.

With all votes counted from Tuesday's election, the head of the electoral commission, Chrysologue Karangwa, said the five-party coalition headed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front won 73.78 percent of the vote, ensuring a majority of the 53 elected seats in the 80-seat lower house or Chamber of Deputies.

The results won't become official until they are certified by the Supreme Court within five days, Karangwa said.

The vote in the central African country is the culmination of a nine-year transition that began when rebels led by Kagame, a Tutsi, overthrew the extremist Hutu government responsible for the slaughter of more than 500,000 Tutsis and moderates from the Hutu majority.

Seats are apportioned to parties and independent candidates according to the percentage of votes they receive, and the electoral commission on Friday will announce the number of seats for the RPF coalition and two opposition parties that qualified for representation in the Chamber of Deputies.

The opposition Social Democratic Party, or PSD, emerged as the leading challenger, winning 12.31 percent of the vote, Karangwa said.

The Liberal Party won 10.56 percent of the votes, Karangwa said on state television.

The only other registered opposition party, the Party for Progress and Concord failed to meet the 5 percent threshold to qualify for seats in the Chamber of Deputies after receiving just 2.22 percent of the vote. The 16 independent candidates also failed to win seats for the same reason.

Voting will end Thursday with the election of 24 seats reserved for women. Those ballots will be cast by an electoral college of local government officials and representatives of the national women's association.

Members of the 26-seat upper house or Senate will be chosen Thursday by the president, local government officials, political parties and universities.

``The voting ... was peaceful without any signs of violence,'' Karangwa said earlier.

He said turnout was 96.48 percent. Electoral observers had earlier said turnout had appeared much lower when compared to the Aug. 25 presidential elections won by Kagame with 95 percent of the vote. Turnout then was 96.55 percent.

Featured in The New York Times at: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Rwanda-Elections.html