Members of the Rwandan community in Uganda, on Sunday morning, turned up in numbers to cast their votes in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Rwandans in the diaspora are voting today, July 14, while those in the country will vote on July 15-16.
There are a total of 160 polling stations in different countries to allow the Rwandan diaspora to vote.
Uganda has over 10000 Rwandans eligible to participate in the polls.
In Kampala, the voting is taking place at Rwanda’s High Commission in Kitante, Kampala, where eight voting booths were erected in the compound to allow smooth flow of the people.
In a recent press briefing, Rwandan High Commissioner in Uganda, Joseph Rutabana, said that all Rwandans living in Uganda, or who will be found in Uganda but are eligible to vote will be allowed to exercise their right to vote as long as they have their identification, are 18 years and were registered.
Amb. Joseph Rutabana casting his vote on Sunday
“We are expecting many people. Many Rwandans in our diaspora have registered to come and cast their vote from across Uganda. Whoever is found here we’ll try to accommodate them” said Ambassador Rutabana.
However, Rwandans in the diaspora will not vote for the MPs for special groups, including women, youth, and people living with Disabilities.
“When people come to vote here [embassy], they will be having two different kinds of voting. The first one will be voting for the president, and on the ballot paper they‘ll be having the three candidates and citizens coming to vote will choose one of them. Then, for the parliamentary, the ballot paper will have different political parties, which have been approved by the electoral commission, and you’ll vote for the political party you want,” H.E Rutabana explained.
Three candidates are running for the Presidency: Paul Kagame of the RPF-Inkotanyi, Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana.
Up to 589 candidates are vying for 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
A total of 2591 polling stations have been designated to conduct the elections in Rwanda and the diaspora.
9.5 million people have been registered to vote in Rwanda . Of these, two million are said to first-time voters.
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