The Governor of Eastern Province, Odette Uwamariya, has described grassroots elections as the foundation of sustainable peace, development, unity and reconciliation in the country.

Uwamariya was speaking, yesterday, after the launch of the polls that saw village and cell executive committees elected to represent different constituencies.

The elections involved all eligible Rwandan voters and were conducted through lining up behind a preferred candidate.

"Grassroots leaders at village, cell and sector levels have championed the country’s quest for unity and reconciliation. They are at the centre of all development programmes. Their proximity to communities make them vital, they can build or destroy communities,” the governor said.

Uwamariya encouraged the electorate to vote wisely and not be driven by emotions but rather look out for candidates that would deliver tangible results.

The village executive committee is made up of five members, including the chairperson, the in-charge of security, social affairs, information, and the officer in-charge of development.

On the same day, voters elected councillors who will represent them in the cell council, as well as representatives of special interest groups at the cell level.

All official campaigns were done at polling stations where each candidate was given five minutes to present their manifesto to the electorate.

Meanwhile, citizens The New Times spoke to said such an exercise was necessary because it keeps the leaders accountable to the electorate.

"It’s important that leadership changes after a period of time. There are some people who had spent long in the local leadership, yet they were not performing. We shall work with the new ones for the good of our communities,” said Alfred Ndahayo, from Rwamagana District.

Fight drug abuse, corruption

In Northern Province, residents challenged the newly-elected leaders to discharge their duties with a high degree of responsibility and also work closely with institutions, both at local and central government level to fight vices like drug abuse and corruption.

These, they said, are a major bottleneck to development.

At the various sites visited by The New Times, yesterday, polls started early in the morning in some sites, while in others voters would wait for others to come to have quorum before the exercise kicked off.

Some candidates presented themselves as contestants while in others they were nominated by the voters themselves.

In interviews across the province, residents stressed the importance of the grassroots leaders, saying these are the people they live with in their communities and that can easily handle their problems.

They said fighting drugs and corruption is possible only if grassroots leaders played a critical role as they are the ones knowing every corner where such vices take place and should prevent them to speed up socio-economic development.

"It is my first time to vote. What I want from leaders we are voting for is to help us fight drugs, especially among the youth. The other vice that should be fought is corruption,” said Chadad Mupenzi, 18.

The Senior Six student of ESIR Ruhengeri in Musanze District also cited unemployment as a major challenge, saying although grassroots leaders are not policymakers and at times have no financial means to create jobs, they can carry out advocacy to ensure central government and other partners help find a solution.

Pascaline Niyomwali, from Musanze, expects the new leaders and those to be elected at higher levels to put the electorate’s interest first.

"They should understand that they are elected not to sit back but to work for socio-economic development,” she said.

Euphrem Munyendamutsa, 64, from Burera District’s Rugarama Sector, said a local leader should be characterised by good conduct, which would make them respected by the people they lead.

Northern Province governor Aimé Bosenibamwe described the exercise as "open democracy” because voters freely lined up behind the candidate of their choice.

"Polls for all the five categories were smooth and transparent, voter turn up was impressive apart from those in the youth category where some voters were not on time, we congratulate those elected and we will explain to them the tasks and challenges ahead,” said Bosenibamwe.

He said grassroots leaders can be agent of development if they are responsible for their assignments and work with other partners such as private sector and civil society, especially religious leaders.

In Southern Province, thousands of Huye residents, thronged the newly-refurbished Huye Stadium, where nine villages from Butare Cell of Ngoma Sector convened for the elections.

The process started at about 10:30am and, like in other parts of the country, the delay was attributed to lack of quorum.

Own devt programmes

Théogène Turabumukiza, who was elected as the new leader of Kabutare Village in Ngoma Sector, Huye District, pledged to work hard to bring development to the people.

The Groupe Scolaire Gatagara teacher said there is need for nurturing teamwork between leaders and the electorate to ensure socio-economic development progammes are owned right from the village level.

Southern Province executive secretary Jeanne Izabiriza, who voted from Karubanda Village, said the village leadership is crucial as that’s where the implementation of all development and welfare activities begins.

She thanked the outgoing village leaders for their contribution towards the country’s development but said there is a need for teamwork spirit between the new and old committees to ensure smooth transition.

The Huye District zone coordinator for the National Electoral Commission, Sylvestre Kagabo, said the process had gone on smoothly and that the process had ended at most sites by noon.

Over 6.4 million voters are participating in the ongoing elections of local leaders, which is slated between February and March.

Reporting by Stephen Rwembeho, Jean d’Amour Mbonyinshuti and Emmanuel Ntirenganya.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw