NEC opens submission for parliamentary candidates

The National Electoral Commission (NEC), yesterday started receiving candidatures for aspiring contestants in the parliamentary elections slated for September 16.The submission is expected to run up to August 12 with four political parties expected to submit their lists of nominated candidates while prospective candidates to represent special interest groups will individually submit their candidatures.The special interest groups are women, the youth and people with disabilities who are allocated 24 seats, two seats and one seat respectively. All these groups elect their representatives through electoral colleges.According to the executive secretary of NEC, Charles Munyaneza, in total, 12 candidatures had been submitted by closure of business yesterday.“I came to submit my candidature today because I want to keep up with time. I have hopes that I will be elected although the decision rests in the hands of the electorate. Of course I have a manifesto which I will reveal when we start the campaigns,” Athanasia Nyigwaneza told The New Times yesterday. Nyigwaneza who intends to compete to represent the Eastern Province was the fifth to submit her candidature to the electoral body. Two prospective youth representatives and one independent candidate had also submitted, Munyaneza, added.The parties Meanwhile, political parties are also expected to submit lists of their nominated candidates, who together with the independents, will compete for the 53 parliamentary seats through universal adult suffrage. However, none of the parties had submitted their lists by yesterday. The political parties that are expected in the race are, Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), Social Democratic Party (PSD), Liberal Party (PL) and PS Imberakuri.The chairperson of PS Imberakuri, Christine Mukabunani said; “We are still in the process of compiling our list, so far we have 60 members who have fulfilled all the requiremente but we want to make it 80. We believe by Friday the rest of candidates would have brought all the requirements because that is when we intend to submit our final list to NEC.”PL stalwarts also said they are in the process of coming up with their final list and, according to its chairperson Protais Mitali, they would have submitted the list by the August 12 deadline.PSD, has, already come up with its list of candidates and top on the list is long serving MP Juvenal Nkusi who has been in Parliament since 1994. He was the first speaker of the transitional assembly.According to the electoral law, depending on the number of votes a political party garners, the candidates are selected from the list in ascending order. This means that the one on top has the highest chance to make it to parliament.