HRF Condemns Rwanda’s New Elections Law as Power Grab by Kagame

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has strongly criticized Rwanda’s newly adopted elections law, arguing that it grants President Paul Kagame unprecedented authority over the composition of electoral colleges responsible for selecting local government leaders.

According to HRF, the reform represents the latest step in a broader pattern of legal and constitutional changes that have steadily expanded Kagame’s control over Rwanda’s political system.

The new organic law, gazetted on May 25, removes detailed provisions governing electoral colleges from Rwanda’s electoral legislation and transfers authority over their composition to the President through a Presidential Order.

Under the previous framework, the structure of electoral colleges was defined directly in law and could only be changed through legislative amendments. The new system allows the President to alter the composition of these bodies by decree, without requiring parliamentary approval.

HRF described the measure as a significant concentration of power in the hands of the presidency.

Government Defends the Reform

Rwandan authorities insist the changes are administrative rather than political.

Speaking to The New Times, Jean Baptiste Kayiranga, a legal advisor at the Ministry of Local Government, said the reform is intended to make electoral administration more flexible and efficient.

"The electoral college could be increased or decreased depending on circumstances, but using a Presidential Order makes it easier to address such changes without amending the organic law," Kayiranga said.

Officials argue that electoral colleges need to evolve as local governance structures change and that relying on presidential orders will reduce the need for repeated legislative revisions.