The long-awaited local government elections are set to be held in October 2021, after a delay of close to one year due to the coronavirus outbreak. The draft law amending the organic law governing elections as well as the ministerial order announcing the resumption of electoral process were approved during the recent cabinet meeting that took place on September 1. However, the new provisions did not stipulate the exact dates when the elections shall be held. In an exclusive with The New Times, Charles Munyaneza, the National Electoral Commission’s Executive Secretary has confirmed that the elections are slated in October. “The elections are slated in October, and we are now in the preparatory phase, working on all the legal instruments for the elections to run smoothly,” he noted, adding that they are currently working on civic engagement and regulatory framework. He also added that Covid-19 preventive measures will be adhered to, during the elections. Echoing similar views, Jean-Marie Vianney Gatabazi, the local government minister in a recent interview with the state broadcaster assured vigilance during the elections. “Normally, local elections do not require large gatherings of people in the same place and we will even do our best to use ways that do not attract big crowds at a similar venue, so we are optimistic that we will conduct safe elections,” he observed. On top of that, he added, Rwanda is on a good track in terms of vaccinating its population, it might happen that all polling staff will be vaccinated during the elections, hence making the environment safer. The grassroots elections involve leaders at the village up to the district level and elected officials serve a term of five years. The last term kicked off in 2016 and was expected to end in February 2021. However, the exercise was pushed due to the containment measures of Covid-19, and later, the Senate voted to amend the electoral law to allow local leaders to continue their mandate for a non-specified period. The upcoming exercise will cost Rwf3 billion and according to NEC, there are 340,000 seats in local leadership that will receive new leaders. The posts awaiting new personnel include committees at village, cell, sector and district level (except for districts in Kigali), and members of councils for special interest groups namely women and youth councils, and the council of people living with disabilities. Women must constitute at least 30 per cent of each council from village to the district level.
