All set for Senatorial elections

KIGALI - Elections to vote representatives of the provinces and the City of Kigali in the Senate, take place today. The exercise, that is scheduled to start at 6 a.m., and end at 3 p.m., will see 12, out of 51 contestants countrywide, elected. In a telephone interview, Charles Munyaneza, the Executive Secretary of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), yesterday, said that the commission was fully prepared. “As we talk, ballots boxes are being transported to all polling stations countrywide, and our polling staff are already at the sites to monitor the [election] exercise,” Munyaneza said. One out of nine contenders for the Kigali City seat, will be elected while in the Eastern Province, three out of 12 contestants, will be elected. Of the five contenders tussling it out in the Northern Province, only two will be elected while three will be elected in each of the other provinces. There are 55 polling stations in the whole country, 30 of them for the provincial and Kigali representatives while the others are for the representatives of the institutions of higher learning. In Kigali, there are three polling station; Sports View Hotel in Gasabo, Nobleza Hotel in Kicukiro and Nyamirambo in Nyarugenge. “Counting of ballots will be conducted at each polling station immediately after the voting exercise, but provisional and final results at the national level will be announced later. We are glad to say that the campaign exercise ended smoothly,” Munyaneza added. The electoral colleges are composed of councillors representing districts and all sectors in the country. For universities, the electorate will comprise permanent lecturers, who are Rwandan nationals and registered in their respective institutions. Meanwhile, four out of eight senators appointed by the President, will be nominated this year to replace those who were appointed in 2003 while the Consultative Forum for Political Organisations (CFPO) will also, this year, appoint two out of four nominated by the forum. Other senators appointed by the president and CFPO in 2004 still have another year in service and will be replaced next year. Ends