Politics

Observer from Jersey Channel Islands at Rwanda elections

22 Aug, 2010

One of the senior politicians from Jersey in the Channel Islands has been an independent observer of the August general elections in Rwanda, a country still rebuilding itself following the genocide of the 1990s.

Senator Philip Ozouf, the Jersey treasury minister, was part of a delegation of 11 people from various French-speaking countries which was responsible for drawing up a report following a five-day inspection of polling booths, election stations and the electoral process, which returned President Paul Kagame to power.

Kagame has been credited for economic growth and reconciliation in Rwanda since the 1994 genocide but has also been criticised for silencing and imprisoning some of his opponents in the run up to the August election.

Ozouf, who has worked in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and other African countries and speaks French, was invited as part of the delegation because of Jersey