The city of Kigali will find out who its new mayor will be on May 25 following the resignation of outgoing Mayor Pascal Nyamulinda who resigned from the position on April 10, citing personal reasons.

According to the National Electoral Commission, city council representatives will convene on May 25 for a by-election to vote a new mayor — a position that is turning into a hot seat.

Mr Nyamulinda stepped down last month and since then few details have emerged as to why he resigned, but his departure left behind a general feeling that being a mayor of one of the fastest developing cities on the continent is no easy task.

“We have elections for a councillor for Nduba sector in Gasabo Council on May 19 and then for the Mayor will follow on May 25,” Charles Munyaneza, the executive secretary of NEC told Rwanda Today.

This is the second by-election for the mayor of Kigali as Mr Nyamulinda was elected through a by-election in February 2017 to replace Monique Mukaruliza who also lasted just over a year following her election at the beginning of 2016.

List to be released

Efforts by this paper to get the names of shortlisted candidates were futile even as NEC promised to release the list of candidates on Tuesday by close of business.

Sources say the vice Mayor in charge of economic development, Parfait Busabizwa, who is also serving as the acting Mayor is predicted to take over the mayoral seat.

According to the electoral body, the mayor is voted for by an electoral college of members of the council from all sectors of the three districts that form the city of Kigali.

Mr Nyamulinda’s resignation proved just how tough being the mayor of Kigali is, with only three out of eight mayors since 1994 completing their five-year terms.

A source at the City of Kigali told Rwanda Today that Mr Nyamulinda’s resignation came as a shock as there were no known managerial or administrative issues at city hall.

“Nobody saw it coming. Staff members are still in shock,” the source.

However, other sources said there are unconfirmed reports that there was friction between the mayor and the all-powerful city advisory council, whose decisions override those of the mayor.

Collision

“The advisory council exercises a lot of control and oversight, which sometimes collides with the mayor’s mandate,” the source said.

Prior to his election, Mr Nyamulinda had served as the director-general of the National Identification Agency (NIDA) since 2007 and before that, he was a diplomat at the United Nations in New York.

Of the eight mayors who have been at the helm since 1994, Mr Nyamulinda and Ms Mukaruliza had the shortest terms.

Before Ms Mukaruliza, it was Fidele Ndayisaba who took office in 2011, completing his five year mandate in 2016. Prior to serving as the Kigali mayor, Mr Ndayisaba was the governor of the Southern Province. His elevation to City of Kigali Mayor in 2011 was seen as a reward for successfully leading President Paul Kagame’s 2010 election campaign. He is currently the executive secretary of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission.

Mr Ndayisaba replaced Aisa Kirabo Kacyira in February 2011, who had also served for five years before she was transferred to Eastern Province as governor, where she spent 10 months before being appointed the deputy executive director and assistant secretary-general for UN-Habitat — a position she still holds.

From 2001 to 2006, it was Theoneste Mutsindashyaka, whose reign is recalled by many as the “toughest” having come up with radical policies to transform the city into a modern metropolis, but his tough stance rubbed some city dwellers the wrong way.