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Political Analysis of Democratic Governance Through Rwandan Electoral Process

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Political Analysis of Democratic Governance Through Rwandan Electoral Process POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE THROUGH RWANDAN ELECTORAL PROCESS A Case Study of the City of Kigali from 2001 to 2013 KANAMUGIRE BISETSA Jean Damascène MGE/0003/2011 Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Masters of Arts in Governance and Ethics submitted to School of Business and Public Management of Mount Kenya University JUNE 2014 DECLARATION This research study is my original work and has not been presented to any other Institution. No part of this research should be reproduced without the author’s consent or that of Mt Kenya University. Student’s Name: Kanamugire Bisetsa Jean Damascène Sign: ………………………………… Date: ………………………. Declaration by the Supervisor This research has been submitted with our approval as the Mt Kenya Supervisor. Name: Dr. Gaspard Gaparayi Sign: ……………………………… Date: ………………. For and on behalf of Mt Kenya University ii DEDICATION To my parents, spouse Bernadette Umulinga, children, unforgettable late brother Justin Rwakagara, to whom this thesis is dedicated. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank The Almighty God for having accompanied me throughout my life and have enlightened my mind. I express my sincere gratitude to my parents for their moral as well as material support without whom my existence would be absurd. I express my deep gratitude to my wife Umulinga Bernadette and my children for their moral support. I express my recognitions to the decision makers of Mt. Kenya University for starting this interesting and helpful Master’s program in Rwanda. My sincere thanks are addressed to my supervisor Dr. Gaspard Gaparayi for his valuable assistance, guidance and facilitations he provided in order to make this thesis more effective. All those who contributed toward completion of my studies are highly appreciated. iv ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study is to analyze the democratic governance in Rwandan electoral process in the city of Kigali from 2001 to 2013 with the aims of evaluating and analyzing the citizen participation in electoral process in order to build sustainable democratic governance. General objective is to assess democratic governance in Rwanda electoral process for building sustainable democratic governance while specific objectives are to evaluate the democratic governance in Rwanda through electoral process, to find out level of citizen participation in electoral process and to establish mechanism and strategies put in place in electoral process. The target population was 665,448 the total voters in the City of Kigali. Slovenes’ formula was used to determine the sample size from the total population of the research. Therefore the sample size was 399 respondents. Simple random sampling has been considered, whereby, a number has been given to every member of the accessible population and then the respondents were selected randomly. The study utilized questionnaire to collect primary data from the field. The data entry and management have been undertaken using the statistical package for social science (SPSS). Each questionnaire has been checked for completeness and preliminary general trends of data were established. Data have then been coded and entered into a predesigned data entry sheet in SPSS. Descriptive statistics have been used to analyze data. Data have then been condensed in the form of frequencies, and percentages of the variables. The data have been analyzed and then presented in tables, pie charts and bar charts. The main objective of data analysis and interpretation was to assess the level of citizen participation in designing and evaluating their leaders in decision making. It pursued to analyze the indicators of democratic governance through Rwandan electoral process since 2001 up to 2013, and the level of interactions between leaders and citizen. Findings showed that from various elections held in the City of Kigali since 2001 to 2013, Governance in Rwanda is consensus oriented, effective and efficient, accountable, following the rule of low, responsive and inclusive, acting in the transparent manner guided by the gender equality. Citizen participation through various elections held in Rwanda is effective in vesting leaders and decision making. Furthermore analysis and interpretation of data have confirmed that from electoral process indicators of democratic governance are fulfilled in Rwanda. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ..................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ xi ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................. xiii CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ...................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction….. .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of the study ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the problem ............................................................................................ 3 1.3 Objectives of Study ...................................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 General objectives ........................................................................................ 4 1.3.2 Specific objectives ....................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research Questions....................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Significance of the study ............................................................................................. 5 1.6 Limitation of the Study ................................................................................................ 5 1.7 Scope of the Study ........................................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER TWO ..................................................................................................... 7 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 7 2.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Review of Theory and Concepts ............................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Leadership .................................................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Governance as a cornerstone of democracy................................................. 7 2.2.3 Linkage between Good Governance and Leadership .................................. 8 vi 2.2.3.1 Citizen participation ................................................................................. 11 2.2.3.2 Rule of law ............................................................................................... 12 2.2.3.3 Transparency ............................................................................................ 12 2.2.3.4 Responsiveness ........................................................................................ 12 2.2.3.5 Consensus oriented................................................................................... 12 2.2.3.6 Equity and Inclusiveness .......................................................................... 13 2.2.3.7 Effectiveness and Efficiency .................................................................... 13 2.2.3.8 Accountability .......................................................................................... 13 2.2.4 Political power ........................................................................................... 14 2.2.5 Rwanda vision 2020 ................................................................................... 14 2.2.6 Good governance and Decentralization ..................................................... 14 2.2.6.1 Good Governance and Decentralization Policy in the Rwandan Context 14 2.2.6.2 Phases of Decentralization Implementation in Rwanda ........................... 16 2.2.6.3 Decentralization and Performance Contracts ........................................... 18 2.3 Empirical review on Democratic Governance .................................................... 19 2.3.1 The Greco-Roman Background of Democracy ......................................... 19 2.3.2 Democracy in Antiquity ............................................................................. 21 2.3.3 The Middle Ages and Christian Monarchism ............................................ 22 2.3.4 The Modern Political Thoughts and Democracy ....................................... 23 2.3.5 Political Power and Democracy ................................................................
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