Senatorial Elections Kick Off

The long awaited senatorial elections have finally reached the climax taking off today in all Districts across the country.

The elections which will take two days, all sectors from each District came together at a selected polling station to elect their senator.

The results are expected to be announced on Wednesday.

Tomorrow Tuesday, elections will proceed as five candidates race for public institutions of higher education seat while only Laurent Nkusi will be determined whether he is suitable for private institutions of higher education.

Observers from the region and elsewhere have been dispersed in different polling stations.

Unconfirmed reports from our scoops have indicated that Jeanne D’Arc Gakuba may win Kigali City senate seat.

Of those who registered, 16 vied for the Southern Province slot, 15 in the Eastern, 11 in the Western, nine in Kigali city and five in the Northern Province.

The 26 members of the Senate, only 14 will be elected. The President of the Republic of Rwanda will nominate eight others while the Consultative Forum for Political Parties will nominate four.

Two people will be elected in the Northern Province, one in Kigali City while three people will be elected in each of the other provinces.

The number of Senators representing provinces is based on the number of registered voters in the constituencies, meaning a province with the highest number of voters gets highest number of seats in the Senate.

The electoral colleges at the provincial level today were composed of district and sector councils while those representing higher institutions of learning will be composed of only permanent lecturers, who are Rwandan nationals and registered in their respective institutions.

“As Rwandans, we should continue to be patriotic by showing capacity and capability in strengthening Democratization process in our country,” Prof. Dr Karangwa Chrysologue the Chairman of Electoral Commission says in his welcoming remarks on the commission’s official website.

“The post–genocide election period, is one of the proof which can justify our levels of understanding democracy, Good Governance and sustainable development. We already understand that elections are a strong pillar which connects Good Governance and sustainable development in Rwanda,” Karangwa added.

There are 55 polling stations country wide including 30 in all districts and 25 in higher institutions of learning.