President Paul Kagame has formally submitted his candidature as he seeks re-election in the upcoming polls due in July. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) received his file at around 10:30am on Friday, May 17. The President was accompanied, at the electoral body's head office, in Kiyovu, Nyarugenge District, by First Lady Jeannette Kagame, RPF-Inkotanyi's Secretary-General Wellars Gasamagera, and other senior party officials. No other presidential aspirant has submitted their candidature yet, according to NEC. BREAKING: President #Kagame formally submits his candidature to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) as ruling party RPF-Inkotanyi's presidential candidate in the July elections. : @MugwizaO /TNT pic.twitter.com/hAvMTTMYeM — The New Times (Rwanda) (@NewTimesRwanda) May 17, 2024 Earlier, on May 9, Kagame’s party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF)-Inkotanyi, elected him as its flag-bearer in the 2024 presidential elections. For the first time, 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 it is expected that the diaspora will vote on July 14. ALSO READ: Elections: Presidential, parliamentary hopefuls to submit candidacies on Friday Political parties or independent aspirants have not yet submitted candidacies for parliamentary seats, as per NEC. Kagame, 66, has been president of Rwanda since 2000. In 2017, he was re-elected to the office after claiming a land-slide victory of more than 98 per cent of the vote. The deadline for submitting candidatures ends on May 30.
