The search for the next Miss Rwanda beauty queen kicked off in Rwamagana District, Eastern Province on Saturday.The pre-selection exercise that commenced in Eastern Province will boil down to 15 ladies from across the country, for the much coveted crown.In accordance with Miss World standards, contestants will be pre-selected in all provinces, City of Kigali and each region will be represented by three contestants.The winners from the Eastern Province were Colombie Akiwacu, who took the first place while the 1st runner-up was Ruth Uwera. Yvonne Mukayuhi emerged the 2nd runner-up. They are all 19 years old.The pre-selection attracted seven girls, majority of whom were beautiful and elegant, but with low levels of academic capacity.To the dismay of the public, the candidates in general never showed enough intellectual ability to compete at the highest level, unless they got some extra training."We are surprised a candidate at this level cannot answer a simple question like ‘what is corruption’. The representation is not genuine,”remarked Janvier Murangwa a resident of Rwamagana."These candidates don’t represent the kind of beautiful and intelligent girls we have in our province. Something is wrong in the exercise or the right people don’t actually turn up,” he added.The public was also treated to more drama when a panel of three judges disagreed with the candidates on height measurements, and ordered a fresh measuring session of all candidates."This is crucial and we cannot take chances…let all candidates be measured again before we decide the winners,” one of the judges said.According to judges the criteria included; being a Rwandan citizen aged between 18 and 24 years, at least 1.7 meters tall, being of good moral standing and having good public speaking skills.The pre-selection started late at 4.30 pm, much to the disappointment of residents, who had arrived at the venue at 1.00pm.Nevertheless, three contestants were finally selected as representatives of the province in the forthcoming Miss Rwanda beauty Pageant which is due in Kigali, early next year.Among the attendants was the Minister for Culture and Sport, Protais Mitali, and the Eastern province Governor, Odette Uwamariya.Mitali told the audience shortly after announcing the winners that beauty contest was an important exercise, which empowered women."Miss Rwanda 2014, just like previous editions, will be a platform for women empowerment, building their confidence and capacity. Young girls should be able to use their abilities, beauty and skills, in a manner that dignifies Rwanda. We encourage many of you to participate,” Mitali said.