Parliamentary elections were held in Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

 between 29 September and 3 October 2003. They were the first parliamentary elections since 1988

Rwandan parliamentary election, 1988

Parliamentary elections were held in Rwanda on 26 December 1988. At the time the country was still a one-party state, with the National Revolutionary Movement for Development as the sole legal party. The Legislative Assembly was enlarged from 64 to 70 seats, with 139 candidates contesting the...

 and were held following the approval of a new constitution in a referendum

Rwandan constitutional referendum, 2003

A constitutional referendum was held in Rwanda on 26 May 2003. The new constitution created a presidential republic with a bicameral parliament, and banned the incitement of racial hatred. It was approved by 93% of voters with a 90% voter turnout. Following its approval, presidential elections were...

 in August 2003.

The result was a victory for the Rwandan Patriotic Front

Rwandan Patriotic Front

The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...

-led coalition, which won 40 of the 53 elected seats in the new Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies of Rwanda

The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the bicameral national legislature of Rwanda.It was created under the new Constitution adopted by referendum in 2003....

, and eighteen of the 27 reserved for women, youth and the handicapped. Voter turnout was 96.5%.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats
			Elected	Reserved	Total
Rwandan Patriotic Front Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...  coalition*	2,774,661	73.78	40	18	58
Social Democratic Party Social Democratic Party (Rwanda) The Social Democratic Party is a centre-left Social democratic political party in Rwanda. In the parliamentary election held on 30 September 2003, the party won 12.3% of the popular vote and 7 out of 53 seats...	463,067	12.31	7
Liberal Party Liberal Party (Rwanda) The Liberal Party is a political party in Rwanda that adheres to Liberalism. Higiro Prosper is the party's chairperson.The Liberal Party supported President Paul Kagame in the 2003 presidential election. In the parliamentary election held on 30 September 2003, the party won 10.6% of the popular...	396,978	10.56	6
Party for Progress and Concord Party for Progress and Concord The Party for Progress and Concord is a political party in Rwanda. At the last legislative elections, on 30 September 2003, the party won 2.2% of the popular vote but no seats....	83,563	2.25	0
Independents	42,333	1.13	0
Invalid/blank votes	58,001
Total	3,818,603	100	53	27	80
Source: African Elections Database

* The RPF-led coalition included the Rwandan Patriotic Front (33 seats), the Christian Democratic Party

Christian Democratic Party (Rwanda)

The Christian Democratic Party is a political party in Rwanda. At the last legislative elections on 30 September 2003, the party won 3 out of 53 seats. Mukabaranga Agnès is one of its leading members....

 (3 seats), the Islamic Democratic Party

Islamic Democratic Party (Rwanda)

The Islamic Democratic Party is a political party in Rwanda. At the legislative elections, on 30 September 2003, the party won , 2 out of 53 seats....

 (2 seats), the Democratic Union of the Rwandan People

Democratic Union of the Rwandan People

The Democratic Union of the Rwandese People is a political party in Rwanda. At the last legislative elections, on 30 September 2003, the party won 1 out of 53 seats....

 (1 seat) and the Rwandan Socialist Party (1 seat)