In Rwanda, the campaign continues for the elections on July 15, where the head of state Paul Kagame, in power for 24 years, is a candidate for re-election for a fourth term. Facing him, two candidates: the founder of the democratic green party, the deputy Frank Habineza, the only critical voice of the regime to have seen his candidacy validated by the electoral commission, and Philippe Mpayimana, independent candidate, little known to the general public. He was in a meeting this Saturday in Kamonyi district.
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With our correspondent in Kigali, Lucie Mouillaud
In front of a hundred curious people gathered in a street in the village of Rugalika, less than an hour from Kigali, candidate Philippe Mpayimana details his campaign program.
“ The first point is to protect the achievements, the second point is to reform, the third point is to strengthen the role of the population, lists the candidate. We need to see new faces, we need to hear what is wrong, what this or that candidate is proposing, it is also for my country that I want this “.
An independent candidate, not affiliated with a party, Philippe Mpayimana was unknown in the Rwandan political landscape before his first participation in a presidential election in 2017. An election in which he gathered less than one percent of the votes against the head of state Paul Kagame.
“ I am an opponent of Paul Kagame, that does not scare me, but in the Rwandan sense of the term. It is the opposition where everyone can present their position, defend it without hurting their neighbor. He is one of my inspirations. I know what I can learn from his experience, and what I can add “, explains Philippe Mpayimana.
The electoral campaign continues in Rwanda for two more weeks for both the presidential and legislative elections, before the opening of the vote on July 15.
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