Rwanda Decides: 5 Things to Know as Rwandans Head to Polls
Frank Semata 
Story: New Times Rwanda
Rwandans in the country went to the polls on Monday, July 15 to elect the President and Members of Parliament.
Rwandans in the diaspora casted their votes on Sunday.
Voting started at 7AM and ends at 3PM.
Five things you need to know
More than 100,000 Rwandans volunteered to work as polling staff.
Voters
According to the National Electoral Commission (NEC), more than nine million Rwandans registered to vote in the elections that will decide the President and Members of Parliament for the next five-year term.
Two million of them were first-time voters.
Candidates
There are three candidates for president: incumbent Paul Kagame of the RPF-Inkotanyi, Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and Philippe Mpayimana, who is independent.
There are 589 candidates for Members of Parliament. They include candidates representing political parties, those representing special groups (the youth, women and people with disabilities) as well as one independent candidate.
They are vying for 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
Preparations
According to NEC, more than 2,600 polling stations were set up for the 2024 elections, with at least 160 in foreign countries.
More than 100,000 Rwandans volunteered to work as polling staff.
More than 1,100 local and foreign observers have been accredited for the elections.
776 observers are from Rwanda while 334 others are from foreign countries.
The foreign observers represent various regional and international organisations, including the African Union, European Union, the East African Community (EAC), Commonwealth, International Organisation of the Francophonie, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
Vote Counting
Vote counting starts after voting is over, that is, after 3PM on the election day.
Votes are consolidated at every polling station, based on election results from each polling room.
The votes from each station are consolidated at the district level, and then transferred to the national tallying centre.
When to Expect Results
According to NEC Chairperson Oda Gasinzigwa, partial results of the presidential elections will be announced on Monday night.
Gasinzigwa said that on Monday, they will announce the results of 60-70 per cent of the votes for president.
Partial results for Members of Parliament will be announced on Tuesday, after voting for the representatives of special groups has been closed on the same day.
Vote tallying will continue until July 20, the day the electoral commission will announce the provisional results both for the presidential and parliamentary elections.
The final results will be announced on July 27.
