Rwanda Scraps Voter Cards

Parliament in Rwanda has passed a draft electoral law, which will see the scrapping of voters cards.

The Senate this week approved the proposed bill following its endorsement by the Chamber of Deputies previously.

According to the draft legislation voters cards will be scrapped in a bid to increase efficiency and service delivery through greater use of technology in the process. Citizens can already use their ID cards in order to cast their vote.

Addressing the Senate ahead of the vote Minister for Local Government Anastase Shyaka stated, "We have always used a voter's card to vote but in line with commitment to smart elections, it looks like the voter's card is a needless burden. The card doesn't add anything on the documentation we need in order to vote given that the Rwandan National Identity Card is good enough."

The move is expected to save government around US$220,000 in printing and distribution costs.