A total of 14 Election Observation Teams from the East African Community have been deployed to monitor the General Elections in Kigali.
Rwanda goes to polls this week, with elections starting on Monday, July 15.
Usually, observer teams across the continent have always played the role of conformity to the particular regimes with their usual repertoire of ‘Elections were free and fair,’ which means few people take them seriously.
All the same, the EAC has outfitted its own team. Sort of.
Flagging off the Election Observation Teams from the Head of the Mission headquarters in Kigali Chief Justice (Emeritus) David Maraga, who is also a former Kenyan Chief Justice said that the Mission was deploying the observation teams to all the 30 districts in the four provinces and the City of Kigali.
Since the Mission’s arrival in Kigali on 8th July, 2024, the observers have been interacting with various electoral stakeholders in the country to further understand the preparations for the electoral process, including training on principles, practices and ethos of regional and International Election Observation.
“Prior to the arrival of the larger delegation, the EAC had an advanced team that carried out a detailed and technical analysis of the preparations and measures being undertaken by various institutions, agencies and stakeholders in the country.”
“The findings from this analysis have formed the basis of further strategies for election observation, including the deployment of teams across the country to observe the polls,” said retired Chief Justice.
The Head of Mission said that through the preparatory activities and engagements, the Mission had acquainted itself with the electoral environment prevailing and the context within which Rwandans will be exercising their democratic rights.
The 55 EAC Observer Mission drawn from the EAC Partner States and the East African Legislative Assembly are dispatched to all parts of Rwanda where they are supposed to observe the elections.
Assessing the level of preparedness and participation of electoral stakeholders for the election and the level of compliance with the electoral processes and management to the international, regional and national established laws, principles and practices are some of their mandates.
“The Observers will also assess adherence to the democratic principles of the EAC as enshrined in the Treaty and offer objective recommendations for continuous improvement for the conduct of such elections.”
The observation teams were expected back at the mission headquarters in Kigali on 16th July, 2024.
“The field reports filed by the observation teams will enable us to prepare a Preliminary Statement of the EAC Election Observation Mission, which shall be released on 17th July, 2024. The mission will depart from Rwanda on 18th July, 2024,” he said.
Now here is the catch; the mission had so far observed a “generally calm electoral, political and security environment ahead of polling day.”
“For this, we wish to thank the political leadership, the people of Rwanda and the institutions managing the electoral processes in the country,” said the Head of Mission, adding that a peaceful and successful general election will not just be a victory for Rwanda but the entire EAC.