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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

RWANDA: EU sends in more election observers

KIGALI, 8 May 2003 (IRIN) - The European Union (EU), one of the main financiers of the Rwandan constitutional referendum scheduled for 26 May, has sent 12 more observers to monitor the vote, the head of the EU observer mission in the country, Colette Flesch, told IRIN on Wednesday.

The 12 observers who arrived on Tuesday in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, join six others who arrived a week earlier. Flesch said that each of the 12 provinces in the country would have one EU observer, with the remaining six monitoring the elections from Kigali.

The Rwandan electoral commission estimates that the referendum, presidential and parliamentary elections would cost US $16 million but says it has, so far, received half the amount.

The transition period in Rwanda ends in July, and President Paul Kagame has said the presidential elections would be held in July or August while the parliamentary elections would be held a month after the presidential vote.

Flesch described preparations for the 26 May referendum as "good and in advanced stages". The electoral commission has finalised both the administrative and technical aspects of the referendum.

Meanwhile, the electoral commission has released the referendum procedure. Voters will be required to answer "Yes" or "No" to the question: "Do you accept this constitutional project?"

Voter registration is complete, with the commission having registered some 3.7 million voters. A total of 1,740 polling stations have been identified across the country, and Rwandan embassies abroad will also act as polling centres for some 6,000 Rwandans in the diaspora who have registered with their embassies to vote in this year's elections.

Two people have declared their intention to challenge Kagame who, however, has not indicated whether he would be in the race. Former Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu and the president of the Christian Democratic Party, Nepomuscene Nayizira, have stated their intention to contest the presidency.

Themes: (IRIN) Governance

[ENDS]

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