Kigali: People who cannot relocate are not allowed to go to the province to claim their houses

The day before the election, there were many people at Nyabugogo station as they prepared to go to their homes in the province to vote.

The telephone forwarding correction process ends at noon on Saturday, June 29, 2024. Those who have not yet been forwarded are requested to vote at the location indicated on the voter list.

While some people used this transfer method and liked it, others did not like it and they could not transfer to the voter list. Some said the technology failed, some said there was a “SIM card” that did not count (it requires the transferee to use the SIM card to count), and some did not know when the transfer was completed.

Some were forced to go home to vote

Because some of them showed enthusiasm and eagerness to vote for their leaders, and since some of them were voting for the first time, they had to find ways to leave Kigali and go to their homes in the province to vote.

However, for some, getting a bus the day before the election was difficult. There were many passengers at Nyabugogo station, and some who arrived at noon were given tickets for the 5:00 pm bus.

Many people interviewed by Kigali Today, mainly young people, said they were travelling to the province to vote. Uwimana Ange, who is about to vote for the first time, said he is from Gikondo in Kigali City and is heading to Nyanza in Kigoma District in Southern Province.

When asked why he voted, he said: “I moved too late, I don’t know.” He said the return ticket cost him a whopping Rs 12,000. “Next time, we want you to move him without bringing ID cards so that they will pick him up from where he is,” he said.

His grandmother Donatiel left Kimihura in Kigali city to work in Ruhango district in Southern Province. When Kigali Today met him at Nyabugogo station, he said: “The train is gone and we arrived late, it was difficult. I arrived at Nyabugogo station at noon and they gave me a ticket for 5pm. I heard about the move but I thought the time was up.”

They said it would be expensive to pick them up.

Niragire Clementine also left Kigali to vote in Byimana area of ​​Ruhango District in Mahembe Cell. He also got his ticket for 5:30 pm and said he was worried about whether he could get there before sunset.

He said: “We arrived here at noon, we lost the car, and the person who came told us that it would take 3500 to reach Ruhango, usually 2200, I added 1500 for the motorcycle. He didn’t drive until 5:00 pm, and the sirens went off. It was difficult for us to reach the province. Now some people will not vote because of car problems, but they want to vote. As young people, we are happy to vote, but I did not vote in Kigali because I did not win.”

Nshimiyimana Jean Bosco, who is about to vote for the second time, left Kigali in Gasabo to vote in Ngororero district in Western Province. He bought a ticket for 5:30 pm, complained that he had bought a late ticket, and then went to where the bus left him and took another bus. He wished there were more attendants in the bus in this case.

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced at the beginning of the RBA interview on the morning of Sunday, July 14, 2024 that they are aware of the problem of those who are unable to move and they are looking into it so that when the time comes to vote, a way to help those who have this problem has been established.

In that interview, Judith Mbabazi, the NEC’s legal affairs commissioner, said: “Tomorrow before the election we expect that we will still be discussing the matter so that we can see the decision that will be made, but those Rwandans will not be denied the right to vote.

To find out if a decision has been made to help those facing these obstacles, Kigali Today spoke to Moïse Bokasa, NEC’s head of communications, at around 2:00 pm on Sunday, saying those who can. go to their home province, because they can come to the site and not vote, because they are not allowed to go to the annex, and even the documents prepared on site may be few and they do not have them.

At around 4pm on Sunday, the deputy chairperson of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Mutimukeye Nicole, also told Kigali Today that no decision had been made to facilitate the annex vote. He said, “The decision and determination will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday this week).”

At 2 am on Monday, July 15, 2024, the National Election Commission issued a statement saying that those who are unable to move can go to the nearest polling station to vote after verifying that it is written on the voter’s business card. List, attached.

Although most people have already returned home after this announcement, some people said that going to their homes to pick up their family members, although expensive, would help them go home to visit their families.

The day for the elections of the President of the Republic and the House of Representatives has arrived. If you have not yet moved and are registered to vote, you can vote at the nearest polling station listed in the attached file. We wish you a happy election!#AmatoraMuCyo pic.twitter.com/vDLWVYFXR1

— Rwanda National Electoral Commission (@RwandaElections) July 15, 2024