The 9 August Presidential Elections in Rwanda were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere. During the campaign, candidates enjoyed freedom of movement and assembly and they did not report any incidents.

On the polling day in Kigali city, universal suffrage was provided for, voters turned out in very large numbers across the city and the process was well administered by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in collaboration with Kigali city authorities.

The statement was articulated by the Kigali City Mayor, Aisa Kirabo as the district officials; the 6743 election volunteers met at Sports View Hotel to celebrate the work done and also evaluate their performance in the recent concluded elections. Following the evaluation NEC is expected to compile the final Report, which will contain final conclusions as well as recommendations required to improve on the upcoming elections.

The Kigali city mayor said that as with most elections this recent past elections, there are positive developments. For the 2010 elections observers were impressed for the well organised and peaceful poll.

Kigali city is comprised of three districts, 35 sectors divided into 161 cells and 1176 villages. The city had 174polling stations and 1496 voting centers.

"We have come along way and today Rwanda has taken great strides, just 16 years since the 1994 genocide. As part of this reconstruction the country has, to its credit, embarked on a process of establishing electoral democracy” Kirabo said.

She added that Kigali city atmosphere was very peaceful which showed a very good image of our country.
"I would say NEC conducted the technical aspects very well, providing confidence to the people to turn out in large numbers. We commend the people of Kigali city for their active involvement and for their confidence in the electoral process” she said.

"NEC exhibited a high standard of organization, which added confidence to our electoral process. The electoral commission officers worked professionally and diligently in their management of the process. The updating of the voter register provided for universal suffrage and the inclusion of photos on the final voter register was a positive feature.

The National Electoral Commission executive secretary, Charles Munyaneza said that during election period many cities across the world  witness endemic violence with widespread consequences and in the worst cases but Rwanda has proved to the world that it can hold peaceful elections irrespective of its past.

The Rwandan capital Kigali provides both a comfortable and welcoming introduction to this land of a thousand hills and an ideal springboard from which to explore the magical country. Kigali city is made up of three districts namely Gasabo, Kicukiro and Nyarugenge. It is presently inhabited by over 1 million inhabitants.

The turn up was very impressive as Kigali voters turn up reached 95.08 percent and also on the day of the election, observers reported that preparations were in place for the timely opening of the poll and voters turned out in very large numbers.

Polling stations were well organised and staff worked diligently to process voters.  Among the international observers expected such scenarios but to their shock many left the country dumb folded because they didn’t expect the peaceful impression during the presidential elections period.

"We are carrying out evaluation to facilitate us  improve the upcoming elections” Munyaneza said.

He said that Kigali city performed very well in the presidential elections and this is a rare thing because in many cities the electoral processes are fragile and have torn societies.

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