Kenya’s former Minister of East African Community (EAC) Affairs, Musa Sirma, will lead the five-member bloc’s election observer mission to Rwanda for this month’s parliamentary elections. The mission, announced in an EAC statement, will be on the ground from September 10–19 as part of the bloc’s efforts to deepen democracy in the region and following an invitation by the Government of Rwanda. The EAC Observer Mission consists of 36 members, including some EALA legislators, officials from electoral commissions and human rights commissions in EAC partner states and the bloc’s Secretariat. “The mission’s mandate is to observe the preparations for the election, the polling, and the overall electoral environment. The mission will also assess the conduct of the process as a whole and, where appropriate, make recommendations for the future strengthening of the electoral framework in the Republic of Rwanda,” reads part of the statement. The observers are expected to look out for best electoral practices that could be emulated in the region and generally to widen and deepen cooperation between partner states in socio-economic and political affairs. The mission will also ascertain whether the elections were free and fair and conform to principles of good governance and democracy in the region. Legislative polls in Rwanda are spread out over three days with September 16 being the polling day for direct elections for 53 members of the 80-seat Lower Chamber of Parliament. Indirect elections of 24 female representatives will be held on September 17 while September 18 will see the youth and people with disabilities elect their representatives. The EAC observer mission will be deployed to the field in Rwanda from September 13, and its report on the elections is expected to give recommendations on how best to improve election management in Rwanda in particular and in the EAC region in general.
