Rwanda Decides: Youth comprise 42% of final voters’ list

Youth comprise over 40 per cent of total registered voters for the presidential and parliamentary elections in July. This is according to the final voter list that was released by the National Electoral Commission, on June 30. More than 9 million Rwandans registered to vote. Youth comprise 42 per cent (3.7 million voters) of the total voters as women make 53 per cent. ALSO READ: What Rwandan youth expect from the next MPs With a new system called Rwanda Election Management Information System, NEC made it easy for registered voters to verify their registration details, update their identification, or transfer from one polling station to another using their personal telephones or laptops. In the City of Kigali, 1.1 million are registered on the voters’ list of whom 470,043 or 40 per cent are youth while 48 per cent are women. The list shows that there are 2.055 million registered voters in Southern Province as youth make 43 per cent of the voters while women make 55 per cent. Youth make up 45 per cent of 2.038 million voters in Western province as women comprise 55 per cent. Out of 1.4 million voters in Northern Province, 44 per cent are youth whereas 54 per cent are women. In Eastern Province, youth are 37 per cent among 2.2 million voters while 54 % are women. ALSO READ: Rwanda electoral body transports voting materials to polling stations abroad 77,000 voters in Diaspora In the Diaspora, youth comprise 22 per cent while women are 47 per cent out of 77,138 registered voters. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) is coordinating with diaspora communities to ensure that voting materials are transported to polling stations abroad, an effort conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MINAFFET) to ensure that all requirements are delivered on time. Charles Munyaneza, the NEC Executive Secretary, told The New Times that once the final voter list is released, no further changes will be allowed. Access to the system for making any alterations to the voting list has been closed. The campaigns began on June 22 and will run through July 13. Rwandans in the country will vote in the presidential and parlimentary elections on on July 15, with the Diaspora vote taking place the day before, on July 14. Meanwhile, elections for House representatives of special interest groups (women, youth and persons living with disabilities) will be held on July 16, capping a three-day voting exercise. ALSO READ: What you need to know about polls for special interest groups Fifty-three MPs (Chamber of Deputies) will be picked through direct universal suffrage (almost all of them fronted by political parties), while 24 seats are exclusively reserved for women, representing 30 per cent of all the seats in the Lower House. Two special seats are dedicated to the youth with one reserved for persons living with disabilities. In the 2017 presidential elections, the voters’ list included 6.8 million names before it increased to 8.1 million voters during the 2018 parliamentary polls.

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Rwanda Decides: Youth comprise 42% of final voters’ list