https://allafrica.com/stories/202012010338.html
There is about to be a new election for the grassroot leaders coming up very soon in Rwanda. In an interview with The New Times, the Executive Secretary for NEC, Charles Munyaneza said that “the current grassroots leaders will run their respective terms to conclusion in 2021.” The NEC has set the local government elections to begin on February 6 and conclude on March 2, after a cabinet meeting where the calendar was approved. Typically grassroot leaders have a 5 year term which is why the leaders elected in 2016 are going to end their term in 2021 and the electoral dates are rapidly approaching. Earlier today the electoral body was expressing their concerns with the election and COVID-19 and terms of feasibility. According to Munyaneza, “among the elections will go on with observance of Covid-19 preventive measures especially social distancing.” He said, “We are planning to have at least two polling stations for each village, but the number of residents will influence the decision. We want to make sure social distancing is respected at all polling sites,” he notes that the same will apply during the electoral campaigns. Candidates are required to submit their candidatures from December 28th to January 11th. The exercise will also include polls for special interest groups; women, the youth and persons with disability. Women must constitute at least 30 percent of each council from village to the district.
This is a very similar process as to what is going on in America right now, electing a new leader. I think they are doing a really good job with dealing with Covid-19 along with dealing with an election. I thought it was interesting to learn about the grassroots election vs how our election works. After doing more research i learned that the Politics of Rwanda reflect Belgian and German civil law systems and customary law takes place in “framework” of a semi-presidential republic, where the President of Rwanda is the head of state with significant executive power, with the Prime Minister of Rwanda being the constitutional head of government.