It is only a few days before the curtains rise on the presidential and parliamentary campaigns that are scheduled to begin on Saturday, June 22, and run for three weeks until mid-July, before the 2024 elections take place.

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Ahead of the highly anticipated duel for the presidential seat, here are some of the things that the three candidates who are on the definitive list had to say.

Paul Kagame

Incumbent President Paul Kagame said that despite what the country has achieved in the past few years, he is challenging himself and all Rwandans to do more.

"After seeing what is possible and that it is clear that it is coming from you as Rwandans, what should stop you from doing better to reach further into a better future?” he asked.

He hinted at what has been achieved in sectors like health, infrastructure, sports, agriculture and more, but insisted that people who want to move fast and reach far will always challenge themselves to do more.

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"We have not yet reached where we should be proud to be, though we are taking steps,” he said.

Giving an example of last year’s eight per cent economic growth and the increase in electricity coverage to 77 per cent of the country, he emphasised the need for people to keep asking how the economy can grow by 10 per cent or more, and how the remaining 23 per cent of the country can achieve full electricity coverage.

Frank Habineza

Rwanda Green Party’s presidential candidate, Frank Habineza, claims he is better positioned this time around, thanks to a number of achievements registered by his party as well as structures put in place.

In an interview with The New Times, the 47-year-old, who previously contested in the 2017 presidential elections and in the 2018 parliamentary elections, said his party has gleaned valuable lessons and gathered experience through their previous political endeavours.

"In the last elections, for instance, we lacked women’s and youth structures at the district level. However, this year we managed to put them in place. In addition, our party currently has three parliamentarians — two in the lower chamber and one in the senate. We also have people in local administrative councils. We are stronger as a party than we were before,” he said.

In the 2017 polls, Habineza secured less than one per cent of the votes as Kagame clinched a 99 per cent landslide victory.

Unfazed by the setback, the Green Party persisted in its political endeavours, contesting the 2018 parliamentary elections where it managed to win two parliamentary seats. Later on, it also fronted one of its members for a senate position, through the Political Parties’ Forum, and successfully secured it.

"We also encouraged our members to go for leadership posts in local government structures. We got one member who is now on the district council of Rulindo. That was a success. We also have more people in youth councils, for example in Kicukiro District,” he noted.

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Habineza also said there are many achievements his party made in terms of working towards friendly policies and laws. For example, he noted that the increase of teachers’ salaries and the reduction of taxes are a few of the many points that the government made, in response to what the Green Party was agitating for in 2017 and the subsequent years.

"Almost 70 per cent of what we had in our manifesto in 2017 has been achieved. The government and the ruling party accepted most of our ideas and put them into implementation either as policies or laws,” he said.

"The issue of increasing teachers’ salaries was one of the key issues we raised. We had also promised to provide hot meals for school children. I am very happy that the government accepted these proposals,” he added.

Philippe Mpayimana

Independent candidate Phillippe Mpayimana told The New Times that he is ready to present to Rwandans something new in his campaigns.

"I want to convince the population that there is something new coming,” he said, adding that he wants the population to take time to consider what he will be proposing to them.

He is currently a Senior Expert in charge of Community Engagement at the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE), a position he has held since November 2021.

It is his second time contesting for the Head of State position after an unsuccessful attempt in 2017 when he got 0.72 per cent of the total votes in elections that the incumbent, Kagame, won by a landslide.

Asked about his preparedness for the campaigns, he said he is making arrangements for it "in a great way.”

"We will start from Kirehe in Eastern Province. After that, we will be doing two campaigns daily in two districts. We believe we will reach the entire country,” he noted.