Rwanda’s Kagame secures party’s endorsement to pursue fourth term bid

Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, has clinched the ticket of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) for the country’s presidential election in July.

Kagame’s candidacy was unopposed during the RPF’s congress that ended on Saturday, the party said.

The poll is scheduled for July 15, and candidates will be allowed to campaign from June 22 until July 12, according to the election calendar.

The RPF said Kagame was endorsed by 99.1 percent of votes cast.

“We know where this country has come from, I appreciate the apparent role you have played in that. I also appreciate the trust that you always and continue to place in me,” Kagame said after he won the primaries.

“The burden you have given me I have accepted to carry.”

Kagame, one of Africa’s longest-serving presidents, confirmed his fourth term ambition in September 2023.

At the last election in August 2017, the 66-year-old won his current seven-year term with 98.63% of the vote.

In 2015, Rwanda altered its constitution, giving Kagame eligibility to seek a maximum of two five-year terms after the current one ends this year.

Although Kagame has gathered international acclaim for presiding over peace and economic growth since the end of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, he has also faced criticism from rights groups.

The former military officer has been accused of clamping down on the opposition and stifling independent media.