The public can now vote their favourite contestants to become the very first to ever win Mr Rwanda as the race for the crown continues. Contestants vying for the crown at the inaugural edition of the contest are already mobilising Rwandans to vote for them after the voting system, both online and via USSD, was made open to the public on Thursday, April 21. A total of 75 contestants were selected during the auditions concluded in late March. Kigali records the highest representation with 53 contestants followed by Western Province which has eight representatives, Northern Province will be represented by seven contestants, while the rest of the Eastern and Southern Provinces have five contestants apiece. One can vote their favourite contestant online via https://votes.igihe.com/mister/ or via USSD by dialing *544*1 number of a contestant #, with a vote going for Rwf 100. People can, as per the system, cast more than one vote at the same time where one can, for instance, load Rwf 5, 000 and give the contestant 50 votes at once. The first part of the voting process, which runs until April 30, will see three contestants with the highest number of votes automatically booking tickets to the boot camp. They will join 15 others who will progress to the boot camp depending on how they will perform during the forthcoming pre-selection event slated for April 30. That means that the remaining 54 contestants will be eliminated through the pre-selection and wait to try again next year, should organisers keep the pageant alive as earlier highlighted. Weekender understands that the panel of jury comprised of local radio presenter, Aissa Cyiza, fashion guru Sunday Justin and Chear Sebudwege, who were used during the provincial auditions, remains the same panel that will decide the top 18 who will progress to the boot camp. Apart from the crown, the winner of the inaugural Mister Rwanda will walk away with a car, whose brand is yet to be confirmed, and a 12-month apartment accommodation, among other prizes. He will also represent Rwanda in international contests like Mister Africa. Themed ‘Bravery, Brain and Culture’, Mister Rwanda is organised by Imanzi Limited to give young men a chance to shine through the pageant. Young men aspiring to take part in the Mister Rwanda contest must be Rwandan, aged between 18 and 30, a high school graduate and must have a clean criminal record. Physical appearance and cultural values are also taken into consideration.
