Rwanda's referendum and the usual voices around it

Friday, December 18, 2005 is a day that will remain etched in Rwanda’s history as the day that Rwandans overwhelmingly stepped out to take part in a referendum vote on changes to their constitution. By the time I was writing this there was little doubt about what Rwandans had chosen with the results from the various districts pointing to an average of 98 percent of the voters in favour of amending the constitution. The day was a public holiday and if you are in my line of business you soon learn that public holidays are not the kind of days to look forward to. In the first place, they mean nothing to journalists or writers because your deadlines remain in place. More annoyingly, if anyone owes you money, then you can be sure a new excuse has been found to postpone payments. The referendum vote was not the first time an electoral process has found me in Rwanda. The way things are done here always intrigues me. The referendum had a voter turnout of over 98 per cent but I never heard of areas that delayed to get voting materials or polling stations begging for more time because some have not voted by the designated time. This kind of efficiency is surely worth a PhD study because it can be seen in many other facets of Rwandan life. Just like in other elections, Rwandans voters will show up very early to cast their ballots. I heard of an old lady who was at her polling station by 1am! Yes you read that right, 1 am in the morning. There was also a heavy downpour of rain at some point but that did nothing to dampen the mood of the day but was instead viewed as a blessing of some sort. A rather common African interpretation each time rain coincides with a big function without ruining it. By around 1pm, most people had finished voting and some could be seen nearby at small bars and shops enjoying cold beers and the regular banter on all sorts of topics, including the sacking of a football coach thousands of miles away from here. Later in the evening the same voters will would to the polling station to witness the tallying of votes before resuming with their other commitments. When the electoral commission started counting, many moved into a celebratory mood leaving owners of bars smiling all the way to the bank. In some places, the usual music would quickly be replaced by excited patrons singing liberation songs. On social media, things were a little different. There were several Rwandans happily posting the outcome of the voting and talking about how Rwandans have not only made the right decision but more importantly THEIR decision. This was in reference to the counter voices of other social media users who were bent on judging Rwandans and prescribing what in their opinion is best for Rwanda. Some voices were quick to compare Rwanda to Burundi and Uganda on the matter of presidential term limits. It has become quite easy to lump all situations and countries in our basket because the notion that Africa is a country is one that seems to be winning and one we have genuinely not done much to correct even in the age of social media. To some, what happened in Rwanda on Friday is just what happened in all other African countries they can think of. There is clearly an element of laziness that draws such people to these absurd conclusions. They find no need to even check whether all those countries held a referendum in the first place. The exercise that Rwandans went through clearly disarms many patronising voices because they went through a clear process, whether it was a right decision or not is still their decision and they are the ones to live with it. At least we can respect them for that and agree that those not part of the process can only have an opinion and nothing more. I also don’t see why many Rwandans have to expend a lot of energy on those who express a different opinion on social media. It is 2015 and one can use their internet access to comment about Rwanda, Ukraine, Burundi, Donald Trump, Jose Mourinho or Islamic State. After all most of these opinions are not really informed ones. So it is ok to ignore them sometimes. Merry Christmas to you all.

Opinions

Rwanda's referendum and the usual voices around it