Rwanda National Police (RNP) has called upon the general public to exercise their electoral rights while respecting the law and to avoid any acts that can disrupt peace, safety and security.
The force said it will continue to exercise its mandate of ensuring sustainable security before, during and after the forthcoming parliamentary polls.
Pre-election campaigns started yesterday ahead of the polls slated for September 2-3, 2018.
“As accustom, the Rwanda National Police has committed more personnel and material resources to ensure smooth and incident-free elections,” RNP spokesperson, Commissioner of Police (CP) Theos Badege said.
He, however, observed that “Rwandans are now accustomed to peaceful elections and this should not be any different.”
“Candidates, the general public and voters in particular have in previous elections exhibited high level of integrity and operating within the limits of the law; in partnership with other security organs, we have designed a security plan to ensure that this remains the same for peaceful and incident-free parliamentary elections,” CP Badege said.
The partnership, he said, also involves local leaders under the overall coordination of the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
He also urged aspirants to desist from defamatory statements against their opponents and called for “patience” especially in campaign site areas that are likely to experience heavy traffic flow.
“Election-related excitement can often be a challenge. Cases of overloading, using vehicles that are in poor mechanical condition to transport people or using meant for goods to transport people should be avoided to prevent accidents and fatalities; we appeal to everyone to act responsibly,” he said.
He also cited overworking drivers as another aspect that can cause accidents adding that drivers should have enough time to rest and avoid driving while drunk or using a phone.
“Some people assume traffic rules and other laws loosen during elections; during elections we actually tighten traffic security measures to ensure safety of the people on roads,” he said.
“All areas prone to security threats shall be monitored, we are striving to provide maximum security in all areas, and to ensure voting is done in a calm and peaceful manner.”
About 7.1 million Rwandans are expected turn-up for the country’s fourth democratically elected House since 1994.
