Rwanda: Kagame will run for president in 2024 on the RPF

The RPF-Inkotanyi has chosen President Paul Kagame to represent the party in the 2024 presidential contest.
On Saturday, March 9, more than two thousand party cadres gathered at the RPF-Inkotanyi headquarters in Rusororo, Kigali, for an emergency congress aimed at selecting the party’s candidates for the July presidential and legislative elections.
Kagame, 66, has been the president of Rwanda since 2000. He was re-elected to the role in 2017 after winning a victory with more than 98 percent of the vote.
The party secretariat adopted a new five-year manifesto that the party candidates will run on during the same convention, and they also provided a report on how their 2017–2014 manifesto was implemented.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to RPF Secretary General Wellars Gasamagera, the party has been able to fulfill most of its pledges to Rwandans during the previous seven years, particularly in the areas of social welfare and economic development.
“Over the last seven years, there has been notable progress within the economic pillar. Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, our economy was expanding at a rate of 9%. But we also took steps throughout the pandemic to lessen its terrible effects and guarantee a steady recovery after it was gone,” he said.
In terms of infrastructure, he mentioned that the party has been able to establish world-class sports facilities like BK Arena, Pele Stadium, and Amahoro National Stadium, which are now under construction, as well as boost energy connectivity and the road network.

“We also built a state-of-the-art golf course,” he noted.
“We built hospitals and medical facilities, including global-scale medical research centers like IRCAD Africa. We built more classrooms to reduce overcrowding and ensure Rwandan children make short distances to school,” he continued.
He said that the RPF will build on its accomplishments in the past five years to realize the national Vision 2050, which seeks to achieve sustainable development and an improved standard of living for all Rwandans.
Furthermore, he emphasized that the RPF leadership will prioritize the continuous enhancement of aviation and road transportation, with a particular emphasis on environmentally friendly transportation.
“Other areas of priority include leveraging AI for economic growth and boosting the quality of education,” he said.
Speaking at the congress, Uwimana Consolée, the vice chairperson of the RPF, said it was a wonderful occasion to commemorate the accomplishments the party has made over the previous 30 years.
It stirs up feelings from our own experiences for some of us. She said, “I also have a personal tale of how the RPF helped me return home after taking sanctuary in the Congolese woods and becoming one of the senior party leaders today.
As the head of our armed forces, Chairman, I would like to express my gratitude for preserving our lives and providing them with a mission: to construct our country. She continued, “On behalf of myself and everyone who is not present with us today, I am thanking you.

Kagame alluded to the weight of the duty ahead of him in his statement of acceptance as the flagbearer and thanked his party for giving him the job.
“You may think of the duty of leading our nation as a kind of shock absorber against the difficulties we deal with daily. The appropriate mindset is necessary, he said.