The Government will save Rwf6 billion after the National Electoral Commission's (NEC) announcement on Wednesday, February 15, to hold presidential and parliamentary elections during the same period.

The development, which is expected to be effective the next election cycle, was disclosed by Oda Gasinzigwa, the new NEC chairperson shortly after taking oath of office at the Supreme Court premises in Kigali on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: NEC wants presidential, parliamentary polls held simultaneously

The move, according to NEC Secretary General, Charles Munyaneza, is well in line with the country’s commitment to always fully fund its own elections.

"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,” Munyaneza said.

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

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

What can the money do?

In the current fiscal year (2022-2023), the Ministry of Health allocated Rwf1.4 billion for the purchase of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine for the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB), located in Huye District.

This is a piece of medical equipment with technology that produces detailed images of the organs and tissues in the body, to allow better disease diagnosis for improved healthcare provision to patients.

Such data suggest that the amount that the government will save could buy about four MRI machines.

Because of the limited number of these devices, a patient being treated at Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence in Burera District, has to come to Kigali to have an MRI scan, and return after getting the medical results.

Also, the amount could build over 990 classrooms, based on the data from the Ministry of health that suggest that it costs about Rwf6 million to construct one classroom. This could contribute to reducing overcrowding in schools.

READ ALSO: Construction of new classrooms at over 95%

Again, the money is more than double the Rwf2.9 billion funding allocated to the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), under the approved national budget for 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Economist Teddy Kaberuka told The New Times that normally elections are costly, adding that even though it has no aid to do that, it has to look for funding for holding them.

He indicated that since the Constitution set both the terms of the president and the members of parliament at five years, harmonising the election periods "makes sense and brings efficiency”.

"The elections are similar, and the process is the same,” he said, indicating that the electoral equipment and polling arrangements can be deployed or done in the same period and help save money.

He said that the saved amount can be used for something important based on the national priorities, citing priorities in the Government’s national strategy for transformation, including healthcare improvement, creating 200,000 off-farm jobs per year, among others.

"That can build like three health centres,” he said, indicating that it can also contribute to the construction of a hospital.

"Imagine if you give a hospital from the money that was saved [through efficient electoral process] to a district that does not have it. You would help citizens,” he said.