Rwanda National Police (RNP) has expressed gratitude towards Rwandans for respecting the electoral rules and regulations that led to the smooth, secure and incident-free local governments elections held on Monday.

Police Spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Célestin Twahirwa, explained that the local leaders’ elections involved deployment of several police resources and officers at all 2,312 polling centres constituting 16,126 polling stations countrywide.

"We also escorted electoral materials from National Electoral Commission (NEC) headquarters to the polling stations and to the tallying centers voting, provided security around polling sites and ensured security of voters, NEC officials and observers as well as maintenance of road safety," ACP Twahirwa said.

He observed that this conduct is a clear manifestation that "Rwandans have grasped the notion of ensuring security while exercising their constitutional rights of voting in a free and calm atmosphere."

"The effectiveness and success in maintaining a conducive and incident-free environment for any local or international events in Rwanda is due to existing strong partnership with the population who continued to play a vital role in ensuring their own security through community policing,” he said. 

The elections which involved over 2,000 candidates competing for slots on district councils, attracted at least 90 per cent of the electorate, according to NEC.