President Paul Kagame has announced that he will run for a fourth term in 2024’s presidential election.
Kagame has been in power for 23 years and can run for two more five-year terms under the current constitution, which was controversially amended in 2015 to allow him a fourth term.
In April 2023, Kagame joked that he was looking forward to retiring and handing over power after 23 years in office.
The country’s ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), retained Kagame as its chairman in April 2023 and has led the party since 1998. The party recently elected its first woman vice-chairperson.
Rwanda under President Kagame has enjoyed relative political stability but Kagame’s administration is accused of suppressing dissenting views.
International rights groups claim opposition politicians, journalists, and activists at home in Rwanda and abroad have also been killed or made to disappear after criticising Kagame or his party.
Rwanda has one of the world’s highest proportions of women in parliament and government.
