President Paul Kagame, the Chairman and flagbearer of the ruling RPF-Inkotanyi, will, on Saturday, June 22, start canvassing for votes for the party’s candidates in the build-up to next month’s presidential and parliamentary elections. Rwandans will go to the polls from July 14 through 15 to elect the country’s next Head of State and members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house. ALSO READ: 2024 elections: Kagame elected RPF flag-bearer Talking about ongoing preparations and the journey to the campaign trail, RPF Secretary General Wellars Gasamagera said that the party was optimistic ahead of the campaign trail, noting that the presidential candidate will be “more than ready” to share the party manifesto. “Starting tomorrow, we will have a total of 19 campaign sites where our presidential candidate will meet face-to-face with the population during this exercise.” ALSO READ: A look at Rwanda's three presidential candidates “At all the sites we will be fronting with our eight coalition parties who will also speak to the public during the campaigns.” Gasamagera pointed out that this year’s campaign trail will be held parallel with the parliamentary elections, for the first time. “Following the revision of our constitution which allows for synchronization of presidential and parliamentary elections, we will also have our parliamentary candidates campaigning around the country as they contest for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies.” Pressed for details on the RPF manifesto, Gasamagera was quick to point out that the party’s presidential candidate will share the party’s manifesto, when the campaign period officially begins. Kagame will be competing with two challengers; Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent candidate. For seats in the 5th parliament, RPF and five of its coalition parties have 80 nominated candidates, including 38 female and 42 male. The campaign trail will kick off in Musanze District, at University of Rwanda’s campus in Busogo, in Northern Province. According to Alex Kanayoge, Musanze District’s Executive Secretary, the site has already been set as they wait for the campaign to begin. We are doing the final touches at the site. All needed equipment has been put in place, including tents, sound system, paddocks, maintenance, among other equipment, Kanayohe told The New Times. He added; We are expecting hundreds of Musanze residents to participate, and the energy can already be felt. The numbers Rwanda’s Lower House – known as the Chamber of Deputies - has 80 lawmakers. Overall, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) received 666 candidatures for parliamentary aspirants, according to their tally. These include 392 nominated by six political organizations, 27 independents, 200 under women, 34 under youth, and 13 under people with disabilities. Women, youth, and people with disabilities, are special interest groups. The final list published by NEC on June 14 indicates that candidates who meet requirements represent more than 84 percent of the 666 aspirants for parliamentary positions. Of the 392 aspirants on political party lists, 345 meet the requirements, up from 246 who were on the NEC provisional list of eligible candidates.
