Parliament aspirants in the special interest groups; women, youth, and persons with disabilities, have distinct campaign protocols different from those for presidential and other parliamentary candidates. Among others, 199 female candidates qualified and are vying for 24 seats – through an indirect election system – reserved for women lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies. ALSO READ: How seats for 24 female lawmakers will be distributed According to regulations governing the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) determines the place and date of campaign activities for special interest groups. ALSO READ: PHOTOS: How candidates hit the campaign trail Charles Munyaneza, the NEC Executive Secretary, said that the campaign period for candidates in women category start on June 25 and conclude on July 5 while campaigns for candidates in the youth category and persons with disabilities will start on July 2 and end on July 10. “We decided to align their campaign periods close to the elections so that when the election day arrives, the councils voting for these groups still remember who is who and what their manifestos are because there are many candidates,” Munyaneza said. He said candidates from the special interest groups will campaign before their electoral colleges – members of the executive committees of their respective national councils. “Candidates are given equal time and no more than 10 minutes to campaign in front of their electorate college and NEC is working to ensure that this programme is communicated to these colleges so they know when to start and get ready for the campaign period.” ALSO READ: How campaigns are unfolding on social media He said women candidates are not allowed to move to different districts for campaigns as they are required to campaign only within the districts where they submitted their candidacy. In terms of representation, four women will be elected from Northern Province and two will be from the City of Kigali, while the remaining provinces will elect six women to make it to parliament. The polling stations for women elections will be at village level and women will be elected by their electoral college from village to country level. Polling stations for persons with disabilities will be at district level and they will be elected by their electoral college from sector to national level. Polling stations for the youth will be set at the national level and they will be voted by electoral colleges from from district to the national level. Munyaneza highlighted the importance of elections for special interest groups, saying that these campaigns ensure that the voices of women, youth, and persons with disabilities are heard and represented at all levels of governance. The candidates from special interest groups make up 27 seats in the lower house; 24 seats for women, two for the youth, and one for people with disabilities.
