Elections to decide Rwanda's next Head of State, and Members of Parliament (MPs) are slated for 2024, with preparations including submission and approval of candidacies for contenders, and campaigns planned to take place earlier.
The polls for President and the 53 Deputies (MPs) elected from a final list of names of candidates proposed by political organisations or for independent candidates will be held at the same time.
It is worth mentioning that Rwanda Parliament's lower chamber consists of 80 MPs - with 27 MPs exclusively coming from women, youth, and people with disabilities.
The development follows the revision of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda to, among other changes, allow both Presidential and parliamentary elections (for the 53 MPs mentioned above) to take place on the same day. The amendments were published in the Official Gazette on August 4, 2023.
The following are 10 key things you should know about the forthcoming elections:
Polling date for election of President and MPs
Throughout the country, the polling date for the President of the Republic and 53 Deputies elected from a final list of names of candidates proposed by political organisations or for independent candidates is Monday, July 15, 2024.
This is according to a Presidential Order of December 11, 2023, relating to elections of the President of the Republic and Deputies, which was published in the Official Gazette on the same date.
For the diaspora, the Presidential Order provides, the polling date for the President of the Republic and 53 Deputies elected from a final list of names of candidates proposed by political organisations or for independent candidates is Sunday, July 14, 2024 - date of the place where they cast their ballots.
Polling date for MPs elected by specific organs
As per the Presidential Order, 24 female Deputies (MPs) elected by specific electoral colleges in accordance with national administrative entities, two Deputies elected by the National Youth Council, and one Deputy elected by the National Council of Persons with Disabilities.
Allocation of seats for female MPs
The seats for 24 female Deputies elected by specific organs in accordance with the national administrative entities are distributed based on the number of the population of each Province and the City of Kigali.
The Presidential Order stipulates that the Northern Province will have four seats; Southern Province, Eastern Province, and Western Province six seats, each; while the City of Kigali will get two seats.
Submission of candidatures slated for May
The receipt of candidatures is planned from May 13 to 30, 2024, while the publication of provisional eligible candidacies is expected on June 6, 2024, while final eligible candidacies are due for publication on June 14, 2024, as per information from the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
Requirements for Independent candidates
An independent candidate provides a list of persons eligible to vote supporting his or her candidacy which includes at least 600 voters registered on the voters' register, including at least 12 persons in each district and registered on the voters' register of the district of issuance of their national identity cards.
The search for those voters supporting the independent candidate is expected to be done from April 18 and June 30, 2024, according to NEC.
Electoral campaign timeline
Electoral campaigns for candidates for the election of the President and Deputies starts on Saturday, June 22, 2024.
For candidates for the election of the President of the Republic and that of 53 Deputies to be elected from a final list of names of candidates proposed by political organisations and for independent candidates, the electoral campaign will close on Friday, July 12.
For candidates to be elected as Deputies by specific organs, the electoral campaign will close on Saturday, July 13, 2024, according to the Presidential Order.
Publication of updated voters' register
It is expected that the final list of voters (voters' register) will be published by the National Electoral Commission by June 25, 2024.
This is in line with the provision of an organic law of July 29, 2019, governing elections which was amended in November 2023. The law provides that a final voters' register is published at least 15 days before the polling day in accordance with the instructions of the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
NEC Chairperson Oda Gasinzigwa said that there is an already existing voters' register which was used for previous polls, but it must be reviewed to assess whether Rwandans who are on the list are still eligible to vote, pointing out that those disqualified from voting rights would be removed from the register.
Gasinzigwa was speaking to journalists on December 14, after NEC delivered a presentation on the preparations for the presidential and parliamentary elections to the General Assembly of the National Consultative Forum of Political Organisations (NFPO) held in Kigali.
Polls to be held within the 100-day commemoration period
Rwanda will enter presidential and parliamentary electoral period in 2024, which will coincide with the 100 days of commemorating - for the 30th time - the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
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The 100-day commemoration period starts from April 7 and continues through July 3. This is a sensitive period in which there is a need to comfort Genocide survivors.
Commenting on why the electoral period will coincide with commemoration activities, NEC Executive Secretary Charles Munyaneza referred to article 100 of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda which talks about the period and procedure for conducting presidential elections.
Among other provisions, the article stipulates that elections for the President of the Republic are held at least 30 days and not more than 60 days before the end of the term of the incumbent President.
It is expected the term of the incumbent President will conclude in August 2024 - it started in August 2017.
Some members of the political organisations called for exercising caution to ensure that electoral process go smoothly, and that Genocide commemoration is not undermined.
Up to 70,000 voluntary polling agents to be deployed
According to NEC Chairperson Oda Gasinzigwa, between 60,000 and 70,000 voluntary polling agents will be deployed to facilitate the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Announcement of election results
An official announcement of provisional election results is expected by July 20, 2024, while the proclamation of final results is due by July 27, 2024, as per information from NEC.
