The Liberal Party (, ; , PL) is a liberal political party in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

led by Prosper Higiro.

History

The party was established in 1991.Aimable Twagilimana (2015) ''Historical Dictionary of Rwanda'', Rowman & Littlefield, p180 Although it refused to join the government formed by

Sylvestre Nsanzimana Sylvestre Nsanzimana (5 January 1936 – 1999) born in Gikongoro Province, Rwanda served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 12 October 1991 to 2 April 1992. He belonged to the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development and previous ...

later in the year, it joined

Dismas Nsengiyaremye Dismas Nsengiyaremye (born 1945) served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 2 April 1992 to 18 July 1993. A native of Gitarama, he was a member of the Republican Democratic Movement and was appointed prime minister following an agreement between Pr ...

's government in April 1992.Arthur S Banks, Thomas C Miller, William R Overstreet & Judith F Isacoff (2009) ''Political Handbook of the World 2009'', CQ Press, p1125 As a result of its involvement with government, and efforts by associates of President

Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (; ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who was the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, his assassination in 1994. H ...

, the party split into pro- and anti-government factions. It joined the

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi; , FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. The RPF was founded in December 1987 by Rwandan Tutsi in exile in Uganda because of the ethnic violence that had occurred during the Rwandan Hutu Revo ...

-led government in 1994 after the end of the genocide. Prosper Higiro became leader of the party in 2001. In the 2003 parliamentary elections the party received 11% of the vote and won six of the 53 elected seats. In 2007 Protais Mitali was elected leader of the party. A dispute over the conduct of the elections led to two MPs and five officials being expelled from the party. The 2008 parliamentary elections saw the party's vote share fall to 7.5% as it was reduced to four seats. Higiro was nominated as the party's candidate for the 2010 presidential elections, receiving 1.4% of the vote. In the 2013 parliamentary elections the party received 9% of the vote, winning five seats. It was reduced to four seats in the 2018 parliamentary elections.

Election results

Presidential elections

Chamber of Deputies elections

References

External links

Official website
{{Rwandan political parties Political parties in Rwanda Political parties established in 1991 1991 establishments in Rwanda