Election 2010
Rwanda 2010 General Elections: The Candidate Profiles
H.E Paul Kagame – born October 23, 1957 is the current President of the Republic of Rwanda.
He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide.
Kagame said that he “feels greatly honoured” to have been chosen as the RPF Presidential candidate, and that he is looking forward to continue in serving the Rwandan people, once he is entrusted with another term in office. He praised the RPF party for its achievements and he is looking forward to building on them in future, nevertheless, he states that he is looking forward to the times and the challenges ahead.
Kagame said that he has many priorities once voted into office for the second term, but the major focus will be on social economic transformation through fighting poverty.“We want to continue seeking solutions to the many challenges, especially the social and economic welfare or transformation of our country. This has mainly has to deal with poverty. “We’ve made very good progress, but there’s a long way to go,” Kagame said good progress has been made but he also warned that there is still a long way to go.
Dr Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo -The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, has been chosen as the flag bearer for the Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Ntawukuliryayo earned a B.A. in pharmacy from the National University of Rwanda and a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical technology from Ghent University, Belgium. From 1997-1999, he was Vice Rector in charge of Administration and Finance at the National University of Rwanda.
In November 2002, Ntawukuliryayo was appointed to be Minister of Infrastructure in the Rwandan government; he served also as Minister of State responsible for higher education. On September 28, 2004, he was appointed to be Minister of Health.
Ntawukuriryayo thanked party members who nominated him to be the party’s flag bearer in the August elections and he vowed not to disappoint them.
Prosper Higiro – A former Minister of Commerce who has served as the senate vice president since 10 October 2004 representing the Kirehe District in the Eastern Province and a senior member of the Liberal Party (PL) as its vice-president. He is also a member of the Pan-African Parliament.
The party president Protais Mitali, believes that his party has matured and ready to fully participate in the democratic process while Higiro clearly states that their vision development. PL is a party that has been around for 19 years working with Rwandans. The party was founded in 1991 with Lando Ndasigwa as its leader, he was one of the first victims of the genocide against the Tutsi.
Higiro vows, that if elected, he will focus on; promoting family planning to reduce the population growth rate which has a negative impact on socio-economic development. Other areas will be improved service delivery, accountability and equal participation, transparency in regulatory organs, bridging the import-export deficit as well as promoting public and private partnerships. He also added that on his agenda he will make every effort improve infrastructure and quality education as well as private sector involvement in the education sector.
Dr Alvera Mukabaramba – A senator and the party candidate, she will be standing for the Party of Peace and Concord.
She contested as the first woman for the presidency for the 2003 general elections but withdrew on the eve of the elections and joined forces with President Kagame who won the polls in a landslide victory. However, she has vowed not to withdraw from the race this time; she went on to explain that in 2003 she withdrew because of the political situation that was prevailing and the decision to withdraw was taken by her party.
She also said that there were presidential candidates who were campaigning using the ethnic card; her party decided to join hands with the RPF since it was on the right path of rebuilding the country.
Mukabaramba said that her manifesto will be unveiled one the NEC has approved her candidacy
The Rwandan National Election Commission has received 4 candidacies for the 2010 general elections so far and is expected to announce a full list of presidential candidates on July 7 while campaigns will start on July 20.
