Commonwealth sends assessment team

President Kagame shaking hands with the head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II, in Kampala, during the previous Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November, last year. Looking on is the Queen’s husband, Prince Phillip.

A team composed of senior officials of the Commonwealth organisation is in Kigali to assess the country’s eligibility to join the 53-nation grouping. Rwanda applied to join the organisation in 2003. The delegation held talks Monday with the Minister of Foreign affairs, Rosemary Museminali, and is also expected to meet other senior Government officials, political party leaders, Members of Parliament and the civil society. According to new membership regulations, “the Secretary General of the Commonwealth should carry out an informal assessment of the ability of the country concerned to meet the membership criteria”. The team will assess the election system, the level of democracy, governance and the judiciary, among others.
Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Museminali expressed optimism that Rwanda would pass the scrutiny. [More]http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13550&article=6822