Biruta to hold reins as acting president

Under the terms of the 1993 Arusha agreement on Rwanda’s transition, the new Speaker of Parliament Vincent Biruta, from the Social Democratic Party, will serve as acting president for a period of three weeks. During that time, the RPF - which holds the presidential portfolio in the transitional government - will propose two candidates for the post of the president, on which the 18-member cabinet and 70-member national assembly will hold separate secret ballots. In the event of a stalemate, all parties in the transitional government will be asked to propose their candidates. The RPF would meet on Friday to decide on its two presidential candidates, General Secretary Charles Murigande told IRIN on Thursday. He also denied that there was any split in the party, and said Rwanda had the institutions in place to ensure a smooth succession.