City residents elect their leaders

Rwandans across the country, yesterday, started their day voting local leaders for their communities. According to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) guidelines, elections were supposed to begin at exactly 7 a.m., with at least 50 percent of the voters present. The voting process, however, gained momentum at around 8 a.m., after the required quorum had turned up.At Rukatsa polling station in Kagarama sector, Kicukiro District, where six villages converged, the voting began at exactly 8.25 a.m. “Residents arrived a bit late which somehow delayed the time we were supposed to begin, but quick calculations show us that about 80 percent of the voters were present,” Christopher Ngarambe Ndoli, the election coordinator at the polling station, said. The same station is where the city vice mayor for social affairs, Jean d’ Arc Gakuba, voted from. Gakuba is ineligible to seek re-election after serving two terms. At Kacyiru 1 Primary School polling station where 12 Villages in Kamatamu Cell, Kacyiru Sector converged, voting started at about 8:45 am, despite some voters having arrived at the site as early as 6:30 am. The voting exercise began with the NEC coordinator, Emmanuel Muhawe, issuing guidelines which include those who are eligible to stand, those who are not supposed to vote and what could lead to one’s disqualification, such as promoting tribal sentiments and bribery during the three-minute campaign that was given to each candidate. Senate President, Vincent Biruta, the Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, Francois Kanimba and Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the Minister of Trade and Commerce also voted from the Kacyiru polling station. At the police play ground where 11 villages from Cyibaza Cell converged to elect their leaders, the voting process had been completed by 12:30 p.m. Ends