Councilors representing different constituencies, right from the grassroots in the City of Kigali, have elected Pascal Nyamulinda as the new city mayor to replace Monique Mukaruliza.

Mukaruliza was recently appointed as Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Lusaka, Zambia.

In the elections held at the City Hall Friday morning, Nyamulinda garnered 161 votes, while his opponent, Aurore Umuhoza managed to get 35 votes.

The Electoral College is composed of 213 councilors including members of the Council of Kigali and those from districts and sectors within Kigali.

Nyamulinda, 53 is the former director-general of the National Identification Agency (NIDA), a post he held since 2007 until he was replaced by Josephine Mukesha earlier this month.

The new city mayor has a bachelor’s degree in International Public Affairs from Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, and a Masters’ Degree in Project Management from Maastricht University in The Netherlands.

He also served for five years as a diplomat at the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations in New York before being appointed to the direction of National ID project in 2007.

He was immediately sworn in following his election.