On May 20, 2024, Dr. Frank Habineza met with Oda Gasinzigwa, the President of the National Electoral Commission, at their office in Kiyovu. He was accompanied by a supportive group of Green Party members, including Senator Mugisha Alex and the party’s Secretary General, Ntezimana Elias.
However, there were some hiccups during the submission process. Dr. Habineza was asked to provide certain documents, but he was missing two crucial ones: a certificate proving he had renounced any other citizenship and a formal letter requesting his candidacy.
The Electoral Commission reminded Dr. Habineza and the Green Party about the requirements for presidential candidates, including being a Rwandan citizen, having good moral character, and being at least 35 years old.
Dr. Habineza explained that he had renounced his Swedish citizenship back in 2017 when he first ran for president, so he didn’t think he needed to do it again. Despite this setback, he remained optimistic about his chances in the upcoming election.
This isn’t Dr. Habineza’s first attempt at the presidency. He narrowly lost in the 2017 election by a small margin. Despite this, he believes that the Democratic Green Party has gained momentum since then, even though it’s relatively new to Rwandan politics, having only been legally recognized for four years.
The Electoral Commission is expected to finalize the list of eligible candidates by June 14, 2024, with campaigning scheduled to start shortly after, from June 22 to July 13, 2024.
