The Government of Rwanda has been re-elected for the fourth time in a row as a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for a period between 2023-2026.

Rwanda’s membership to the council was extended following elections held at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, Romania from 26th September to 14th October 2022.

ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The Plenipotentiary Conference is ITU’s highest policy-making body and meets once every four years to set the Union’s general policies, adopt the four-year strategic and financial plans, and elect the senior management team of the organization, the Member States of the Council, and the members of the Radio Regulations Board.

ITU was founded in 1865 to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks.

Rwanda was first elected in 2010, re-elected in 2014 and 2018.

This year’s voting started Monday morning at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.

ITU holds elections every four years for its five top officials and for two key elected bodies.

In the final stage of the election process, ITU’s Member States competed for places on the 48-seat Council and the 12-seat Radio Regulations Board.

Seats on both bodies are allocated among five administrative regions.

ITU Council Member States elected for 2023-2026

The Region A includes The Americas (9 seats)-Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Bahamas, Canada, Cuba, United States, Paraguay and El Salvador.

Region B comprises Western Europe (8 seats) - Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, France, Germany and Türkiye.

Members of the region C include; Eastern Europe and Northern Asia (5 seats)- Romania, Azerbaijan, Poland, Bulgaria and Czech Republic.

Region D comprises Africa (13 seats) – Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, Tanzania, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa.

Region E includes Asia and Australasia (13 seats) – United Arab Emirates; India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Kuwait, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Korea, Bahrain and China.

Rwanda was among 17 countries vying for 13 seats in the ITU Council in region D.

The country won the seat with 131 votes.

ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies driving innovation in ICTs together with 193 Member States and a membership of over 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations.

Established over 150 years ago, ITU is the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems.

AE News