The National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced that until now it has received 1100 observers who will monitor both the elections of the President of the Republic and the Deputies, among those observers there are 334 from abroad and 776 from Rwanda.
NEC announced this on Friday, July 12, 2024, in an interview with those observers, where they gave them instructions regarding the monitoring of the elections that will be held on July 14 to 16, 2024.
The president of NEC, Oda Gasinzigwa, said that these 1,100 observers came from various countries around the world, and others were sent by international organizations.
He said: “They are coming from different places, we can say, international organizations, the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU), the Commonwealth of Nations, the Francophonie ), election agencies in different countries such as the NEC in Rwanda, some asked their embassies in Rwanda to represent them, and others were sent by their countries to represent them.”
He added that there are also national and international non-governmental organizations and other groups that have requested to monitor the elections.
Gasinzigwa said that the meeting was all about telling them about the preparations for the elections, what has been done and what is left to be done.
He mentioned that these observers will work throughout the country and asked them to pay attention in their work and also comply with the rules and regulations governing them during the elections.
He said: “We wanted to meet them, there were those who came before, we told them about the preparations for the elections. We have communicated to them the regulations of the observers so that they can pay attention, and monitor their electoral work, but also know what they are allowed and what they are not allowed to do.”
He said that most of the regulations governing the election observers in Rwanda are similar to other countries, but that there are things they should pay attention to in relation to the context of Rwanda.
He said: “Observers are important during the elections for they see that what we have been doing is following the law, to see that the results of the elections meet the requirements, we are actually happy to see them coming.”
He added that The National Electoral commission (NEC) is ready to receive the reports from the observers and that they are looking forward to use those reports in their work.
Oda Gasinzigwa asked the observers to pay attention to complying with the rules and regulations governing the election.
He said, “What we can say is that the observers should work where they are asked, they should not give instructions on how the elections should be conducted. The President of the National Electoral Commission is the one who announces the results of the elections.
He added: “They are not allowed to take pictures in the ballot rooms, they are allowed anywhere, but taking pictures of a person voting or a ballot paper is not allowed.”
NEC asked all Rwandans to warmly welcome these observers as they are friends of Rwanda and help them to fulfill their responsibilities.
The NEC said the registration of observers is ongoing until July 14, 2024.
According to NEC over 9 million eligible Rwandans will vote, including 2 million who will vote for the first time.
by Carine Kayitesi
