International election observers have, in a joint statement, commended Rwanda for a “peaceful electoral environment” and diligent management as millions of Rwandans took part in the July 14-16 general elections.
The observers came from organisations including the East African Community (EAC), the African Union (AU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), and the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF).
In a press conference held in Kigali on Wednesday, July 17, they noted that having interacted with various key stakeholders involved in the electoral process and witnessed the campaigns, voting, vote counting and tallying, they saw that “the electoral, political and security environment in the Republic of Rwanda before, during and immediately after the elections has been calm and peaceful.”
In the statement, they also said the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and other institutions responsible for managing the electoral process discharged their duty diligently in accordance with the electoral calendar.
David Maraga, the former Chief Justice of Kenya who headed the EAC Election Observation Mission, said the electoral process was conducted in a calm and peaceful environment that enabled the candidates to campaign freely.
Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca, the former Prime Minister of Cape Verde, who headed the joint AU-COMESA Election Observation Mission to Rwanda, praised the country for being one of the African countries that fully finance their polls, as well as using cost-friendly equipment and establishing polling stations in places like hospitals.
He also said that his team observed that priority was given to persons with disability during the voting activities, as well as the elderly, expectant and nursing mothers.
“All polling stations visited had sufficient security personnel whose conduct was professional and non-obstructive,” he said.
“While the processing time for each voter to cast their ballot was low, the mission noted that in some polling stations, the one volunteer assigned to each process was at times overwhelmed,” he added.
Fonseca also lauded the calm and orderly culture of celebrating elections and voting as “a patriotic duty through associating the process with national colours, culture and music to promote tolerance and cohesion.”
Leaders have extended their congratulations to President-elect Paul Kagame after he secured 99.15 percent of the July 14-15 vote, leaving his opponents far behind, as per partial results released by the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
The NEC is set to announce provisional results no later than July 20, with final results expected by July 27. Kagame on Tuesday said that the landslide victory is a demonstration of the trust Rwandans have in him, noting that it is built over time.
The National Electoral Commission late Tuesday announced partial results of the presidential elections in which Kagame, the candidate of the RPF-Inkotanyi coalition collected 99.15 percent votes, against Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana who got 0.53 percent and 0.32 percent, respectively.
The results announced on Tuesday were from 79 per cent of the votes tallied from both within the country and voters from the diaspora. More than nine million Rwandans were expected to vote in the election and according to NEC, the voter turnout was at 98 per cent.