GICUMBI - The National Electoral Commission (NEC), has met Sector Election Steering Committees to give them election guidelines for the forthcoming local leaders’ elections to be conducted early next year.

The one-day workshop was presided over by the in charge of the district NEC official, Richard Gakwerere.
Under the rules, people with criminal records are not supposed to stand and candidates are supposed to be people with integrity among other things.

Those to be elected include village administrative committees, cell, sector and district advisory councils and the district administrative committee, according to Gakwerere.

"The cell, sector and district executive committee will be elected through a secret ballot by members of the advisory council. The executive committee will comprise of the chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary respectively,” he explained.

Addressing participants, the district officer in charge of good governance, Joseph Munyezamu, stressed the importance of local leaders’ elections on the development of districts.

"The forthcoming local leaders’ elections, which will start from village to district level, are very important because these leaders will assist our top government officials accomplish their primary obligations of availing development programmes to Rwandans,” said Munyezamu.

The district civic education officer, Pierre Celestin Byigero, reiterated the need to disseminate the election guidelines without distortion.

"These NEC election guidelines are laws, upon which all of us are to adhere to in order to realise successful local leaders’ elections,” said Byigero.

Mayor Bonane Nyangezi closed the workshop, calling on participants to pass on the acquired knowledge to various administrative organs in their respective localities.

"You should utilise these guidelines to realise free and transparent local leaders’ elections,” said Nyangezi.

Ends