Referendum 2015: NEC confirms 98.3% of voters backed revised constitution

The National Electoral Commission on Monday confirmed that 98.3 per cent of Rwandan voters endorsed the revised constitution. The development came three days after the referendum and 24 hours following the release of provisional results. No person challenged the provisional results in court, according to the commission. The main referendum poll took place on Friday, a day after similar elections were held by Rwandans in the Diaspora, while preliminary results had been announced on Saturday. The final results, delivered by NEC chair Prof. Kalisa Mbanda during a televised announcement Monday evening, indicate that only 1.7 per cent voted against the constitutional amendments in Friday’s referendum. Rwandans in the Diaspora cast their votes on Thursday, with more than 99 per cent endorsing the revised constitution. The result means that President Paul Kagame can choose to seek re-election at the end of his second term in office come 2017, with the revised constitution allowing him to stand for another seven-year term and then another two five-year terms. Kagame has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election even as calls for him to stay on remain. Mbanda said that the commission observed due diligence to ensure that no mistakes were committed during the tallying process and allowed enough time for anyone who might want to challenge the preliminary results in court. “After announcing preliminary results, we took time to verify the results and to give an opportunity to anyone who has a reason to challenge the process or votes in the Supreme Court. However, as of today, no challenge has been lodged and, as required by the constitution,” he said. More than 6.3 million Rwandans participated in the poll inside the country, while nearly 40,000 members of the Diaspora also took part from their respective host countries. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Referendum 2015: NEC confirms 98.3% of voters backed revised constitution