KIGALI, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's senatorial elections started on Monday with provincial electoral colleges voting for 12 senators representing the country's four provinces and the capital city Kigali.
National Electoral Commission (NEC) expects voters of the provincial electoral college composed of the district and sector councils to observe the quorum of 50 percent plus one person, NEC chairperson Kalisa Mbanda told Xinhua in a telephone interview.
The commission expects free and fair elections and the counting of votes should be transparent, said Mbanda.
The first day's voting will be followed by elections of two senators from higher learning institutions, including one from a public institution and one from a private one, on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
A total of 63 candidates had been approved for the elections, according to NEC.
The senate of Rwanda has 26 members, including eight who will be appointed by the president and four who will be designated by National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations, a permanent platform that brings together 11 political parties in Rwanda for the purposes of political dialogue and building consensus and national cohesion.
Election results are scheduled to be announced on Sept. 30.
The new senate will replace the current one, which has been in place since 2011.
Rwandan senators were previously eligible to serve an eight-year non-renewable term, but in 2015, a constitutional amendment cut it to a five-year term, which can be renewed once.
