Rwandans set to elect  new parliament

Kigali , 16 Sep - (ANA)- Rwandans are going to the polls to elect a new parliament, with the governing RPF party of President Paul Kagame widely expected to retain its huge majority. The party  had 42 of the 53 directly elected seats in the outgoing parliament. Helped by quotas, Rwanda is the world's only parliament where women form a majority. The polls come days after two people were killed in two grenade attacks in the capital, Kigali. No group has said it carried out the attacks but officials have blamed the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which is accused of links to the 1994 genocide. The RPF government has been praised for maintaining stability and overseeing rapid economic growth since the slaughter of some 800,000 minority ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. But President Kagame has been increasingly accused of ignoring human rights and stamping out any opposition. (ANA)

FA/ANA/16 September 2013----------