EAC, COMESA Observer Mission Heads hail Rwanda’s cost effective Presidential Eelection
East African Community Secretariat; Kigali, Rwanda; 01 August 2017:
he Heads of the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Election Observer Missions (EOMs) have hailed the Republic of Rwanda for holding a cost effective presidential election.
Hon. Moody Awori for EAC and Bishop Mary Nkosi (COMESA) further praised the preparedness of the Rwanda National Electoral Commission (NEC) to conduct the election slated for Friday, 4th August, 2017.
Hon. Awori and Bishop Nkosi observed that the 2017 presidential election would not be as expensive as the previous one held in 2010 in that the unit cost had reduced to US$1 from US$3 per voter.
The two leaders further said it was noteworthy that the NEC has just 55 permanent staff and would rely on 70,000 volunteers thereby cutting down heavily on operational expenses.
They further noted that the people of Rwanda were conducting peaceful and orderly campaigns.
Hon. Awori and Bishop Nkosi held a meeting at the Kigali Serena Hotel where the EAC EOM Secretariat is based. Both Mission heads have already met the Chair of the NEC to assess its preparedness for the election.
Hon. Awori informed Bishop Nkosi that members of the EAC EOM had already been trained, provided with observation gadgets and flagged off to the 30 districts of Rwanda.
The former Kenyan Vice President said that a multiple level general election as is the case in most African countries often brings about numerous logistical challenges compounded with the vast geographical sizes.
“In Rwanda, it is notable that there are only three candidates contesting in the presidential election,” he said.
Apart from the EAC, COMESA and the African Union, the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) will observe the Rwandan election.
Hon. Awori and Bishop Nkosi said that it would be ideal if the EAC, COMESA and other African observation missions present their preliminary reports jointly on 6th August, 2017.
The Rwandan presidential election is will be contested by the incumbent president Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party and journalist Philippe Mpayimana who is running as an independent candidate.
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