Republican Democratic Movement

Rwandan political party

Republican Democratic Movement

Mouvement démocratique républicain

Founded| 1991 (1991)
Banned| 2003 (2003)
Succeeded by| Party for Progress and Concord
Headquarters| Kigali, Rwanda
Ideology| Hutu interests
Hutu Power (extremist factions)
Political position| Centre-right to right-wing
Far-right (extremist factions)

* Politics of Rwanda
* Political parties
* Elections

The Republican Democratic Movement (French: Mouvement démocratique républicain, MDR) was a political party in Rwanda.

## History

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The party was established in 1991,[1] after the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) lost its monopoly on politics and opposition parties were legalised. The MDR took its name from MDR-Parmehutu, the ruling party in the early 1960s. Like Parmehutu, the MDR's primary base of political support was Hutus in the centre of the country, particularly Kayibanda's home prefecture of Gitarama.

In late 1991, the MDR joined with the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party to form an opposition coalition that placed pressure on President Juvénal Habyarimana and the MRND to implement democratic reforms. In March 1992 Habyarimana named a multiparty government with a Prime Minister, Dismas Nsengiyaremye, from the MDR.[2] He was succeeded as Prime Minister in July 1993 by another MDR member, Agathe Uwilingiyimana.

The MDR was ostensibly moderate but developed numerous extremist factions which professed Hutu Power beliefs. The most prominent extremist faction of the MDR was led by the party's vice president, Froduald Karamira, who was later executed for his participation in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

After its victory in the Rwandan Civil War in 1994, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) named a new Broad Based Government of National Unity with the MDR's Faustin Twagiramungu as Prime Minister. He remained in office until 1995. In 2001, the MDR's Bernard Makuza was named prime minister.

With elections scheduled for mid-2003, the MDR was the only opposition party able to challenge the RPF. However, on 15 April 2003, Parliament voted to dissolve the party and accused it of being "divisionist".[3] Several former MDR members formed the Party for Progress and Concord later that year.[1]

## References

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1. ^ a b Profiles: Kagame's opponents BBC News, 22 August 2003
2. ^ Gérard Prunier (1995) The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide, Columbia University Press, p145
3. ^ Rwanda Holds First Election Since Genocide LA Times, 25 August 2003

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Political parties in Rwanda

Parliament|

| Ruling coalition (40)|

* Rwandan Patriotic Front (36)
* Centrist Democratic Party (1)
* Democratic Union of the Rwandan People (1)
* Ideal Democratic Party (1)
* Party for Progress and Concord (1)

|

Other parties (12)|

* Social Democratic Party (5)
* Liberal Party (4)
* Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (2)
* Social Party Imberakuri (2)

Unrepresented|

* Ishema Party
* Prosperity and Solidarity Party
* Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change
* PDR-Ihumure
* Rwanda National Congress
* Rwandan Socialist Party
* United Democratic Forces of Rwanda
* RDR

Banned|

* Coalition for the Defence of the Republic
* Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
* National Revolutionary Movement for Development
* Republican Democratic Movement

Defunct|

* Association for Social Promotion of the Masses
* Parmehutu
* Rwandese National Union

* Portal:Politics
* List of political parties
* Politics of Rwanda

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

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