Towards a fourth term?
The ruling party in Rwanda, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), on Saturday March 9 designated the country's President Paul Kagame as its candidate for the July 15 presidential election, indicating that it had elected him without opposition during a congress which ended on Saturday.
Aged 66, Paul Kamage has ruled Rwanda with an iron fist since the mid-1990s and won the presidency, each time with more than 90% of the vote, in the 2003, 2010 and 2017 elections.
One of his few competitors in the presidential election is the leader of the opposition Green Party, Frank Habineza.
A 47-year-old MP, the latter obtained only 0.45% of the votes in the 2017 presidential election. He is placed third by current polls, criticized by rights defense associations for their irregularities and intimidation at the polls. against voters.
Paul Kagame's other possible competitor, Victoire Ingabire, leader of the unregistered movement Dalfa Umurunzi (Development and Freedom for All), is at this stage excluded from the presidential race due to a previous conviction.
A court decision, scheduled for March 13, will decide whether or not she is authorized to run for president.
Rwanda plans its presidential and legislative elections on July 15, in line with a decision last year by the government to hold the polls on the same date.
Twenty-four women parliamentarians, two youth representatives and one representative of Rwandans suffering from disabilities will also be chosen by colleges and electoral committees on July 16.
Candidates will be able to campaign from June 22 to July 12, according to the electoral commission.
Rwanda presents itself as one of the most stable countries on the African continent, but several human rights groups accuse Paul Kagame of ruling it in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and freedom of expression.
With AFP
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