Mayors and vice mayors to replace those who resigned in Karongi and Rutsiro Districts will be replaced in by-election due on Friday, March 28, according to the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
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Karongi District will elect a mayor and vice mayor in charge of economic development, while Rusizi District will elect a mayor and vice mayor in charge of social affairs.
The districts’ executive committees will be elected after filling the vacant positions for councilors and district councilors' bureaus.
By-elections will also be held to fill vacant positions in the district councilors’ bureaus in Burera, Bugesera, Nyamasheke, and Muhanga districts.
Candidacy submissions for the by-elections to fill vacant positions in district councils, setting the stage for the selection of new mayors and vice mayors, ran from March 10 to 14.
ALSO READ: Rusizi vice mayor, three district councilors resign
In November 2024, Anicet Kibiriga, the Mayor of Rusizi District, resigned, along with the Vice Mayor for Social Affairs, Anne Marie Dukuzumuremyi, and Jeanne D'Arc Niyonsaba, a district councilor overseeing the National Women’s Council (CNF).
In April the same year, the Vice Mayor for Economic Development in Rusizi District, Louis Munyemanzi Ndagijimana, had resigned from his position, along with three other district councilors.
ALSO READ: Rusizi Mayor Kibiriga, two officials resign
The resignations in Rusizi followed similar resignations in Karongi District, where Mayor Valentine Mukase stepped down, along with the Vice Mayor for Economic Development, Niragire Théophile.
The two resigned on November 15, alongside Donatha Dusingize, who was the chairperson of the District Council.
ALSO READ: Karongi Mayor resigns, 12 officials sacked
Currently, Karongi District has an acting mayor, Gerald Muzungu, whose acting vice mayor in charge of economic development is Maurice Nsabibaruta.
The acting mayor of Rusizi District is Alfred Habimana, while the acting vice mayor in charge of social affairs is Monique Uwimana.
To ensure women councilors make up 30% of district council members, female candidates must be elected in Karongi and Rusizi districts, said a statement signed by Jean Claude Musabyimana, NEC Executive Secretary.