RPF-Inkotanyi nominates Kagame for President

Members of the RPF-Inkotanyi have unanimously nominated President Paul Kagame for re-election in the forthcoming presidential elections that are slated in August. The decision was made yesterday at the party’s extraordinary congress which took place at the party’s new headquarters in Rusororo, Kigali City’s Gasabo District. It was a full house at the new RPF complex when 1929 party members out of 1930 members eligible to vote nominated the president to bear the RPF flag in the elections while one vote was null. He agreed to run in the contest and continue to lead the country to more prosperity, peace, and stability and he urged the rest of Rwandans and leaders from other political parties to join him and put their efforts together for the country’s brighter future. “We have got to be with each other in this fight for our better tomorrow and there won’t be shortcuts; we’ve got to do it,” the president told RPF delegates and representatives from nine other local parties who were invited for the congress. He pledged to continue doing his best to fulfill his duties as President if elected by the rest of the electorate in the country but he also called on RPF members to use the next seven years to work towards a transition. “Now that you brought me here to accept it, I will give it and you my all. I will do it to the best of my ability,” he said before he added: “We must work harder so that what made you ask me to stay longer can be addressed in these seven years”. He added: “I will give it everything I have as I have done it before or even double my efforts so that together we can reduce the need for those factors that compelled you to ask me to stay”. Kagame also called on the youth to be active participants in politics noting that those who were young in 1994 could be the next President. “If you don’t get involved in politics, bad politics takes care of you and the next day you are led by people you don’t deserve,” Kagame said. “Aspire to be a leader,even a President.But above all aspire to be a good leader.That’s what Rwandans need and deserve,”he added. RPF members’ nomination of President Kagame as their candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections follows the president’s endorsement by many other political parties in the country, including two of the biggest political organisations here; the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Liberal Party (PL). RPF members during the extra-ordinary congress that nominated President Kagame who is also the chairman of the party to run in the August presidential elections. The congress was held at the new RPF Headquarters in Rusororo which was also inaugurated yesterday. / Courtesy The massive nominations for President Kagame by other parties were motivated by results from the 2015 referendum in which over 98 per cent of Rwandan voted to change the Constitution to allow Kagame to run for a third term in office. PSD’s president, Dr Vincent Biruta, told members of the RPF at the meeting yesterday that his party has chosen President Kagame for next elections in order to maintain the country’s good governance policies. “Choosing Paul Kagame as our candidate is a way of supporting what we have achieved including unity and reconciliation as well as inclusive development,” he said. PL’s president, Donatille Mukabalisa, echoed the same sentiments and said that her party has been working well with the RPF since its creation in 1991 and is ready to continue working together. “We will continue to support you Your Excellency and we are sure about the victory,” Mukabalisa told President Kagame at yesterday’s caucus. The event to nominate Kagame was also joined by invited representatives of ruling political parties from nine African countries namely Angola, the Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanazania, Uganda as well as the People’s Republic of China. The chief executive officer of the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), Prof. Anastase Shyaka, told delegates at the meeting that achievements of the RPF over the last 23 years since it stopped the genocide speak volume at how well it has done for Rwanda. They include nurturing unity among Rwandans, fostering good governance and peace and security for them, and significantly improving their health and access to essential services like water, electricity, justice, and education. Going forward, he said, RPF members want to end abject poverty for all citizens, foster industrialisation and rural and urban settlements, and that they want Rwanda to be nurturing more Pan-African diplomacy, economic diplomacy, regional cooperation, and be a globally connected and relevant country to live in and visit. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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RPF-Inkotanyi nominates Kagame for President