Rwanda: Ferwafa Elections – Who Are in the Race for the Top Job?
The football governing body (Ferwafa) elections are now taking shape with a host of aspirants submitting their nominations for various positions at the FA’s office.
Police FC chairman Alphonse Munyantwali, a former provincial governor, and former Rayon Sports President Chance Denis Gacinya on Saturday submitted their nominations to the FA Electoral Commission in Remera after confirming that they will run for president and vice-president positions respectively.
The duo joined serial presidential aspirant Louis Rurangirwa who is famous for withdrawing their candidature even before the elections take place.
Munyantwali, a former governor, initially for Southern Province and later Western Province, is not new to the world of football. He was the Mayor of Nyamagabe District when Amagaju FC got promoted to the topflight league in 2015.
During his tenure in office, the district was always supportive to the club until it got promoted to the topflight league.
In less than a week since he opened up on switching his career to football when Police FC appointed him as their new chairman, Munyantwali has been tipped to lead Ferwafa.
Gacinya, a local businessman, is not new in football administration either, having previously served as Rayon Sports President between 2014 and 2017 before he was replaced to the top position by Paul Muvunyi.
He has also been part of the club’s vice-president in 2017.
The FA General Assembly will elect the new President alongside the Executive Committee who will serve a two-year term from 2023-2025 to finish the term of Olivier Nizeyimana Mugabo who resigned last month.
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According to Ferwafa Electoral commission boss, Adolphe ‘Camarade’ Kalisa, the commission will be receiving applications for interested candidates between May 22 and May 25.
The provisional list of approved candidates will be announced on June 6 and the final list will be made official on June 13.
Campaigns for qualified candidates will officially start on June 14 and end on June 23 just one day before the elections.
The new FA boss will replace Olivier Mugabo Nizeyimana who resigned from office on April 19, citing personal reasons including what he termed as “a lot of work.”
Nizeyimana stepped down after serving two years of his four-year term that was expected to end in June 2024.
The extraordinary general assembly held on May 15 agreed that the new president and the rest of the Executive Committee will stay in office for the two remaining years.
Meanwhile, Marcel Matiku Habyarimana has been tasked to take charge of the federation as interim president until the new FA boss is elected. Habyarimana has been serving as Ferwafa vice-president since 2018.
The general assembly will also hold elections to replace other members of the committee including EXCOM commissioner in charge of legal matters, the Director of Finance and the commissioner in charge of referees.
