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| President Paul Kagame of Rwanda |
Rwanda’s 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be a significant event in the country’s growing political landscape. President Paul Kagame is seeking a fourth term in office. Incumbent President Paul Kagame is seeking another term, facing opposition from prominent opposition leaders. Kagame will vie against Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) and Philippe Mpayimana, a former journalist who is vying on an independent ticket. The duo are not strangers to the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) leader who floored them in the 2017 election. Considered a scarred nation by most political commentators, 2024 polls provide another chance for the country to show the growth of democracy in Africa. What are Kagame’s prospects in 2024 poll The head of state is vying for a fourth term in office, and if he were to win, his presidency would have lasted for three decades. As a leader of the RPF, Kagame played a significant role in ending the genocide and stabilizing the country after a genocide that left over 800,000 people dead in approximately 100 days. Kagame rose to power in 2000 as Rwanda’s Vice President and Minister of Defense after Pasteur Bizimungu resigned and later president by parliament. He ran for re-election three times, in 2003, 2010, and 2017, and received more than 90% of the vote each time. The Rwandan president has been praised for guiding the country through substantial economic growth, infrastructure development, and improvements in healthcare and education. However, Kagame’s tenure has been marred by controversy as critics accuse him of presiding over the suppression of political opposition, limiting press freedom, and human rights abuses. Who will vie against Kagame Eight people submitted their application to the Rwandan National Electoral Commission to contest the presidential election. However, only two, Habineza and Mpayimana, were cleared to vie, with the others disqualified for various reasons. Diane Rwigara, a Kagame critic from the People Salvation Movement, was disqualified by the electoral body, which said she had failed to provide the correct documentation. Victoire Ingabire and Bernard Ntaganda were also barred from vying in the 2024 polls due to past convictions. According to Yana Gorokhovskaia, the research director of strategy and design at Freedom House, the disqualifications mean the opposition is not a real factor in the election. “Technically, the leader of the country is elected, but they’re elected without real competition. So the election is sort of pro format,” she said. Does Habineza have a chance against Kagame Habineza, the leader of the country’s main opposition party, is taking another shot at unseating Kagame. A vocal critic of Kagame’s regime, Habineza managed a paltry 0.45% of the vote in 2017 and is one of the two politicians from his party in parliament. Habineza defected from the RPF in 2009 and went into exile in Sweden in 2010 after the unsolved death of his party’s vice president. However, he returned to Rwanda in 2012, promising to champion the fight for democracy in his home country. The 47-year-old politician’s campaign for the 2024 election has been centred around promoting democratic reforms, increasing transparency, and ensuring sustainable development. He aims to provide an alternative to Kagame’s long-standing rule by addressing the issues of political repression and advocating for a more open and inclusive political environment. Earlier in the year, Habineza rubbished claims that his candidacy was a charade aimed at appeasing Rwanda’s Western allies and donors. What are Mpayimana’s chances against Kagame A senior expert in the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement, Mpayimana received 0.72% of the vote in the 2017 election. An ethnic Hutu, the former journalist fled Rwanda into the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1994 as hundreds of thousands fled the advance of Kagame’s militia in the final days of the genocide. The 54-year-old then moved to France in 2003, after some time in Congo-Brazzaville and Cameroon. However, since 2012, Mpayimana has divided his time between Europe and Rwanda. Despite being considered an outsider, Mpayimana has based his agenda on economic development, social justice, and national unity. His focus on economic and social issues resonates with many Rwandans who seek improvements in their daily lives.