Rwanda: A presidential campaign without much suspense

By on July 21, 2010

The presidential election campaign has started on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, with a significant declaration of the ruling party in Rwanda (RPF), attesting that it had collected two million dollars to finance the campaign of President Paul Kagamé. The party said: “it is the supporters’ contribution, who put their hands into their pockets”; while the opponents are considering bank loans.

The paradox is so astonishing when we know that the three other candidates are the vice president of the National Assembly and former Minister of Health, Jean-Damascene Ntawukuriryayo; the vice-chairman of the Senate and former Minister of Trade, Prosper Higiro,  and finally a woman Alvera Mukabaramba. All have a program and speech similar to the RPF, and all had supported the president Kagamé  during the last election.
In fact, the outgoing president will not have any challenging opponent able to prevent his reelection. All that portends a ballot without much suspense, mainly when we learn that the three opposition groups, emerged in recent months and that could shadow the “Paul Kagamé foot print”, will not be in the race. Two parties have not yet obtained their registration by the authority. They are the Green Party, whose vice president was beheaded last week, and the United Democratic Forces (UDF), whose president, Victory Ingabire, is in Kigali under court supervision since her indictment for denial of genocide and complicity in terrorism. These same accusations have cost Bernard Ntaganda, the leader of the third opposition party, the PS IMBERAKURI, to be imprisoned nearly a month ago.

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