Diane Shima Rwigara, on May 30, submitted her candidature for the July presidential elections to the National Electoral Commission (NEC), becoming the seventh independent aspirant to bid for the presidency in the July polls.

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Rwigara said that her political programme is centered on the continuous economic development of the country. She said: "It is nice that we have really developed infrastructure, a clean city, but we also must remember other aspects of development.

"When I get elected, I will promote food security and make sure that everyone has a roof over their head and every citizen is able to send children to school without any complications.”

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Rwigara said that finding the requisite 600 signatures this time was not hard for her compared to 2017.

Rwigara, who needs to provide proof of sole Rwandan nationality, said that her confidence to be elected this time is based on the hardships she encountered while collecting the 600 signatures.

"I have been silent for some time, but it does not mean that I was not aware of what was happening in the country. I was following up all political developments.”

May 30 was the deadline for submitting presidential and parliamentary candidatures.

Elections for the President and lawmakers are set to be held on the same dates.

The polling date for the President and 53 MPs elected from a final list of names of candidates proposed by political organisations, or for independent candidates, is July 15, while the diaspora will vote on July 14.