KIGALI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's Senate elections held from Monday to Wednesday were conducted in a free and fair environment, National Electoral Commission (NEC) chairperson Kalisa Mbanda said Friday.
"The elections were free and fair and were conducted in democratic and good governance principles," said Mbanda while announcing the final results of the elections on the national television Rwanda Television.
Among 14 senators elected from the country's four provinces, the capital of Kigali and higher learning institutions, four are women, he said.
"The elections were peaceful and showed great maturity and respect for the democratic electoral process which shows that our democracy continues to thrive," he added.
Mbanda said the National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations (NFPO) has already designated its four representatives in the Senate.
The NFPO is a permanent platform which brings together 11 political parties in Rwanda for the purposes of political dialogue and building consensus and national cohesion.
The Senate of Rwanda has 26 members, including eight who will be appointed by the president and four designated by the NFPO.
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.
