Rwandans head to the polls to elect their next president and parliamentarians on 15 July next, Rwanda's National Electoral Commission announced on Tuesday.
“Across the country, the election date for the President of the Republic and 53 deputies from a list proposed by political organisations or independent candidates is set for 15 July 2024,” the Commission declared on X (previously Twitter). Campaigning will take place from 22 June to 12 July, it added.
Current President Paul Kagame, 66, announced his candidature for a fourth term in September.
Kagame became Rwanda's de facto leader after his Rwandan Patriotic Front marched into Kigali in 1994, ousting the then-ruling Hutu extremists and ending the genocide that claimed about 800,000 lives - mostly Tutsis but also moderate Hutus - between April and July 1994, according to the UN.
He became president in 2000 and was returned to power with over 90% of the votes at elections in 2003 and 2010. Controversial constitutional amendments approved at a referendum in December 2015 allowed him to seek a third term in 2017.
The amendments included the reduction of the presidential term of office from seven years to five, starting in 2024, with the incoming head of state allowed to serve up to two terms.
Kagame was returned to power with over 90% of the votes at the 2017 elections. Should he win the July 2024 polls, he could theoretically seek a fifth term in 2029.
Opposition Green Party leader Frank Habineza has also announced that he is running for president in 2024.
Rwanda is seen as one of the most stable African nations. Yet, several human rights groups accuse Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and freedom of speech.
