bicameral Parliament consists of Senate (26 seats; 12 members elected by local councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 by the Political Organizations Forum, 2 represent institutions of higher learning; to serve eight-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies (80 seats; 53 members elected by popular vote, 24 women elected by local bodies, 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - members appointed as part of the transitional government (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of Deputies - last held 15 September 2008 (next to be held September 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - RPF 78.8%, PSD 13.1%, PL 7.5%; seats by party - RPF 42, PSD 7, PL 4, additional 27 members indirectly elected
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts;
District Courts; mediation committees
Political parties and leaders:
Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Democratic
Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic
Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA] (officially banned);
Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL
[Protais MITALI]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned);
Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic
Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
IBUKA (association of genocide survivors)
International organization participation: