NEC to facilitate Senate campaigns

KIGALI - The National Electoral Commission (NEC) said it will facilitate Senate candidates as they canvass for votes.Prof Chrysologue Karangwa, the NEC Chairman, said that the commission will help gather the voters in specific locations so that the candidates can reach them easily.

Thursday, September 08, 2011
A cross section of the senatorial aspirants; NEC will facilitate them to access the electorate. The New Times /File.

KIGALI - The National Electoral Commission (NEC) said it will facilitate Senate candidates as they canvass for votes.

Prof Chrysologue Karangwa, the NEC Chairman, said that the commission will help gather the voters in specific locations so that the candidates can reach them easily.

For Kigali City, the aspirants will address voters in Gasabo District on September 13, and Nyarugenge and Kicukiro districts on September 16 and 20, respectively.

The candidates welcomed the support.

"The electorate is composed of people from various institutions and it’s not easy to have them at once at a rally,” Phoebe Kanyange, one of the four female aspirants in the city race, said.

"As a candidate, this is a tremendous support. All the voters cannot abandon their duties to attend the campaigns and what NEC has done is a good thing”.

The electoral colleges for the provincial and Kigali city candidates are composed of district and sector councillors.

However, only three councillors from each of the 416 Sectors in the country; the chairperson, the vice chairperson and the secretary will cast their votes.

Campaigns will end on September 25, a day before electing provincial and Kigali city representatives.

Elections for those representing higher institutions of learning will take place on September 26.

Nine candidates are in the race for the Kigali seat. The city has a single seat in the Senate. The Northern Province has two slots while the remaining provinces are represented by three each.

Fifty candidates are on the campaign trail countrywide to fill the 14 seats available in the Senate.

Ends