The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has announced it is taking steps toward synchronising Rwanda’s presidential and parliamentary elections effective the next election cycle.

This was disclosed by Oda Gasinzigwa, the new NEC chairperson, on Wednesday, February 15, shortly after taking oath of office at the Supreme Court premises in the capital Kigali.

The former member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the legislative arm of the East African Community, told reporters that the proposal was in part informed by best practices from across the seven-member bloc.

This, she said, would help save resources time and time.

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"The issue of resources, and the budget, are a big challenge to most of our (EAC) partner states, including Rwanda,” Gasinzigwa said. "I have been following, and participating in elections. And as a new chairperson of the National Electoral Commission, after being confirmed by the Senate I thought it’s important to consult with stakeholders and my colleagues and see how best we can manage the upcoming elections.”

Besides the financial resources required for civic education, Gasinzigwa cited the fact that the electorate spend so much time immersed in campaigns and the entire electoral process.

It is a challenge both to the electorate and the entity managing the elections when such major national elections are held in different successive periods, she noted.

The next parliamentary elections were initially due in October this year with the presidential and senatorial polls due next year.

"Stakeholders came to a common understanding; and we think it is high time that we again look into how we can synchronise the dates of the elections for the President and Members of Parliament,” said the new NEC boss.

For the proposal to be implemented, a review of existing legal instruments would be a prerequisite.

A constitutional review would include amendment of one article, she said. "This doesn’t call for a referendum which would otherwise take a lot of time.”

Organising simultaneous elections was previously unattainable as the presidential term was seven years, while senators served for eight years with the term of members of the Chamber of Deputies running for five years.

However, a previous amendment to the Constitution saw both the presidential and senatorial terms slashed to five years each, putting them on par with the term of deputies.

Next presidential and senatorial elections are due August 2024 and, if NEC’s proposal is eventually adopted, it means members of the Chamber of Deputies will serve for one extra year before the next poll.

NEC executive secretary Charles Munyaneza said the move augured well with the country’s commitment to always fully fund its own elections.

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"We no longer depend on donor funding to conduct our elections. And when we look at our elections, be it the parliamentary elections or the presidential elections, you find that each consumes around Rwf7 billion,” he said.

Instead of spending a combined Rwf14 billion on the two electoral events, he said, "Rwf8 billion would be enough if they were held simultaneously.