Rwanda

Elections produce world’s first female majority

Article published on the 2008-09-19 Latest update 2008-09-20 09:09 TU

Rwandans queue at a voting station.
( Photo : Reuters )

Rwanda legislative election voting closed Thursday and provisional results indicate that Rwanda has become the first country to have a majority of women in parliament with 44 of 80 seats going to them.

President Paul Kagame’s incumbent Rwandan Patriotic Front secured a majority in the country’s second election since the genocide in 1994. African Union observers said they were satisfied with the fairness of the country’s second elections

Women won 20 of the 53 seats attributed in direct elections, and in Rwanda’s unique voting system, another 24 seats are reserved for women by indirect vote.

A woman may also have won one of the two seats reserved for Rwandan youth.

This female representation puts Rwanda far ahead of its closest rival in parliamentary gender balance, Sweden, where women make up 47 per cent of parliament, and Cuba, where 43.2 per cent of MPs are women.