The elections of City of Kigali Councillors and Executive Committee will be held on Thursday, August 22, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced. The announcement on Wednesday came hours after President Paul Kagame appointed six councillors, who will be joined by the six others to be decided by an electoral college. The elections of the city councillors, initially scheduled for August 16, had been postponed. ALSO READ: Kagame appoints six councillors for City of Kigali The electoral commission approved a list of 45 candidates to contest for six elected seats. There are 23 candidates from Gasabo District, 13 from Nyarugenge District and nine from Kicukiro District. Each district is represented by two councillors, a woman and a man. The electoral college comprises council members of the sectors of the districts. ALSO READ: Change in Kigali City structure will speed up service delivery The councillors appointed by President Kagame include Samuel Dusengiyumva, the current Mayor of City of Kigali, Fulgence Dusabimana, the Vice Mayor in charge of Urbanization and Infrastructure, Christia Mugenzi Kajeneri, who was a member of the outgoing city council. There is also Marie Grace Nishimwe, who is the Director General and Chief Registrar of Land Title at the National Land Authority, Jack Ngarambe, the Director General of Urbanization, Housing, and Human Settlement at the Ministry of Infrastructure, and Flavia Gwiza,. After the election of council members, the next step will be electing the executive committee members on the same day. The Executive Committee is made up of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor in charge of Urbanisation and Infrastructure, and the Vice Mayor in charge of Socio-economic Affairs. Members of the city’s executive committee are elected for a five-year term of office according to the 2019 law governing the City of Kigali. The current term for City of Kigali Councillors ends on August 31. The committee members cannot serve more than two consecutive terms, according to the law. In 2019, the City of Kigali elected Pudence Rubingisa as the Mayor deputized by Nadine Umutoni Gatsinzi as the Vice Mayor in charge of Socio-Economic Affairs, and Ernest Nsabimana as the Vice Mayor in charge of Urbanisation and Infrastructure. This team was later replaced after Rubingisa was appointed Governor of Eastern Province late last year, and succeeded by incumbent Samuel Dusengiyumva. The current vice mayors are Fulgence Dusabimana in charge of urbanization and infrastructure and Martine Urujeni who is in charge of socio-economic affairs.
