The final list of candidtates for Rwanda’s elections on 15 July has been published. There are only three candidates including the incumbent President, Paul Kagame.
The other two candidtes include Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, (DGPR) and an independent candidate, Philippe Mpayimana.
Rwanda’s National Electoral Commission received a total of nine presidential candidacy applications.
Only President Paul Kagame and the two other politicians were cleared by the electoral body.
Kagame, Rwanda’s ruler since the 1994 genocide and president since 2000, is bidding for a fourth term in office.
Few candidates
The outspoken critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame Diane Rwigara has been barred from standing.
Rwigara was already disqualified from the 2017 poll and expressed her disappointment to Kagame via social media.
“Why won’t you let me run? This is the second time you cheat me out of my right to campaign,” she wrote.
The electoral commission said Ms Rwigara had failed to provide the correct documentation to show she had no criminal record.
It also said she had failed to show she had enough support nationwide to stand.
“On the requirement for 600 signature endorsements, she did not provide at least 12 signatures from eight districts,” Oda Gasinzigwa, the electoral commission chief, was quoted as saying.
Ms Rwigara had also failed to prove she was Rwandan by birth, according to the commission. She once held Belgian citizenship but surrendered that in 2017 before her last bid to become a candidate.
(with newswires)
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