Rwandan poll flawed – UK ambassador

More than a month after Rwanda’s presidential election, the UK now claims there were irregularities in ballot counting and the registration of candidates. William Gelling, the UK’s ambassador to Rwanda, said he personally witnessed irregularities that may have undermined the poll. ‘I saw irregularities in the counting of ballots and vote tabulation. I know that the National Electoral Commission (NEC) is committed to improving the system. I hope that Rwanda will take this opportunity to continue to amend its electoral processes in advance of the 2018 parliamentary elections as part of the democratic journey here,’ he said. This was quickly refuted by the commission. ‘He did not report the claims to us so that we can follow up and verify. We met several ambassadors and talked about those but they could not be specific,’ Charles Munyaneza, executive secretary of NEC reportedly told The East African.