Rwanda’s most vocal opposition party, the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, has threatened to pull out of the 2017 presidential elections if the government does not yield to demands for political and electoral reforms.

However, Rwanda Parliament has told the opposition political party it has no mandate to call for political reforms, saying that only a legislator, parliament or the Cabinet can do so under the country’s laws.

The decision to boycott elections was made last week after its February petition to parliament was ignored.

READ: Rwanda's Green Party petitions Parliament on electoral reforms

The party, which boasts of 200,000 members and one million followers, also wants equal treatment and opportunities for opposition members whom it claimed that are being treated by the government like “foreigners or enemies of the state.”

Green Party president Frank Habineza said the key demands were allowing the media to announce election results after being declared by poll officials at all polling stations and tallying centres, as well as having political parties representations in the National Electoral Commission.

Electronic voting

“DGPR requests the introduction of an electronic voting system that equally uses ballot papers. We also request that election observers be allowed to monitor elections in all polling and tallying centres at village, cell, sector and district levels,” he said in a statement.

“We also request that the political parties’ law of be revised, especially article 24, which prohibits political parties to accept donations from foreign organisations,” added the statement.

According to Jean Claude Nezimana, secretary general of Green Party, the law “intends no harm,” but in the long-run hinders the funding of opposition parties, which are run on meagre resources and cannot even “afford rent for their offices.”

He said the article should be revised to allow opposition parties get foreign support – but have conditions in place to declare the source of funding and provide reports to the government.

A political analyst who did not want to be named, however, said the Green Party will lose more if it boycotted the elections because the poll would go ahead anyway.

The ruling party — Rwanda Patriotic Front in contrast, will only suffer credibility questions if the reforms are ignored.

Mr Nezimana said amendment to the election law will enable political parties receive campaign support from the state in advance, instead of being reimbursed after the elections upon getting the 5 per cent of the national vote.

Rwandan law, however, recognises all registered political parties irrespective of their performance in elections.

“We are supposed to be well equipped before we go to an election. But currently, there is no financial support from the government — not for our activities and not even for campaigns during elections,” he said.

“The only money we get is for attending functions organised by the National Consultative Forum of Political Organisations, through which government and the UN channel financial support to all political parties. But there is no way such meagre resources can help political parties to challenge the ruling party,” he said.

Other political parties were coy on the matter when contacted, with many stating that they did not have a comment on the matters raised by the Green Party.