Rwandans today return to polls to elect sector councillors countrywide. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has urged the public to cast their votes early and proceed with work.

The elections, that begin at 7am and close at 3pm, are for about 832 district council seats contested by more than 2,000 aspirants.

The polls will be conducted at 2,312 polling centres constituting 16,126 polling stations countrywide.

While previous village and cell elections were conducted with people lining behind their candidates, today’s elections will be conducted through the secret ballot.

The elected sector councillors will on February 27 participate in election of district executive and council committees.

According to Olive Kansanga, the election management specialist at NEC, all election kits were supplied at all polling stations on the eve of the Election Day whose turnout is expected to be at more than 97 per cent of eligible voters.

"No polling station has so far claimed late arrival of the election kits, we are hopeful the exercise will go on as planned and we urge voters to do their civic duties and proceed with normal daily activities,” Kansanga told The New Times yesterday.

How polls will be conducted

In today’s elections, according to Kansanga, a voter will be provided with two ballot papers, from which one will be about candidates contesting 30 per cent of women leaders while the rest will be about other local councilors who will again vie for district seats on February 27.

In a statement, last week, the commission said voters are expected to carry their voting cards and or their identity cards.

"These elections are for all eligible voters and will take place at respective polling stations from 7am up to 3pm,” reads the statement in part.

The local polls started on February 8 with the election of village and cell councils and will be concluded on March 4.

Yesterday, candidates wound up campaigns, which started two days before village and cells elections.

The campaigns started on February 6 and ended on February 21, according to the National Electoral Commission. 

The commission said more than 2,000 observers, including those from diplomatic missions accredited to Rwanda and the civil society, have been accredited to monitor the Monday exercise.

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