NYAGATARE - Preparations for the upcoming grassroots elections in the Eastern Province are in high gear, an official has said.

The elections are scheduled to begin, countrywide, on February 6 and conclude on March 3, 2011.

The positions to be filled include members of the advisory and administrative councils from the village level up to the district and the Council of the City of Kigali.
Others to be elected are committees and councils for special interest groups that include women, the youth and persons with disabilities.

Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Frank Kayiranga, the coordinator of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in the Eastern Province, said that preparations are in final stages in all parts of the province.

"We have finished clearing voters’ lists in all of the 503 cells in the province. The next step is at the sector levels. We have 95 sectors in the province and everything is going on as planned,” he revealed.

Kayiranga added that they have also carried out mass sensitization of residents to participate in the elections and the number of voters is likely to increase.  NEC allocated Rwf300,000 to each sector for the preparations.

"This money is meant to facilitate steering committee members in the elections preparations activities like transport for members attending meetings and many other activities,” he explained.

The official appealed to the residents to submit their candidatures for the various posts.

The national grassroots elections are expected to cost Rwf4.3 billion.

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