500 observers accredited for Sept. polls

About 500 electoral observers have been accredited for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) has said. Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Charles Munyaneza, the commission’s executive secretary said that 100 observers will arrive from outside the country while 400 are from international agencies and foreign missions accredited to Rwanda as well as local organisations. Munyaneza said that they will continue to receive applications until September 14, two days to the elections. He added: “Some of the observers are diplomats based in Rwanda; others are from electoral commissions in the region and local observers from civil society organisations and the Consultative Forum for Political Parties.” “We have also accredited electoral observers from the European Union, African Union, Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC), while others are from countries like Liberia and South Africa.” The elections slated for September 16-18 will see new legislators chosen to represent Rwandans in different categories. The campaigns started on Monday. Munyaneza stated that NEC accredits only agencies and organisations, not individuals. He noted that the accredited observers have a right to choose the district they want to work from and are free to go anywhere where elections will be held. “The accredited observers are not just limited to observe on polling days, they are free to monitor voters’ registration and election campaigns which are ongoing.” He pointed out that observers are supposed to come from organisations in the fields of governance, human rights and elections. The elections will cost Rwf5 billion, Rwf4 billion less than what was spent in the 2008 polls, and NEC attributed this to improved experience in conducting elections, proper storage of the electoral kit used in the previous elections, and the increase in the number of election volunteers. Final list Last week, the electoral commission released the final list of candidates who will run in the September elections and the majority of outgoing MPs are on the final list in the various categories. The candidates are from the coalition of parties led by the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), the Liberal party (PL), the Socio-Democratic Party (PSD) and PS Imberakuri.There are also four independent candidates. The Chamber of Deputies is composed of 80 members but 27 slots are reserved for special interest groups of women (24 seats), the youth (2) and people living with disabilities with one seat. Close to six million voters are expected to take part in the election and NEC has set up 2,291 polling centres in 2,148 cells across the country. There are about 15,500 polling stations in 14,953 villages. Up to 28,304 Rwandans in the Diaspora have registered also to participate in the polls.