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President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, in London, Thursday May 4, 2023.© Vadim Ghirda/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.

Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame has been endorsed as candidate by two of the oldest and political parties in the east African nation.

Liberal Party (PL), and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), endorsed the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) candidate Paul Kagame in the July presidential race on Sunday, joining four smaller political parties, which are already in a coalition with the ruling RPF — in endorsing Kagame.

“It is a good thing that President Kagame acknowledges and considers ideas from other political parties” foreign Minister Vincent Biruta, the PSD president said while announcing his party’s endorsement of Kagame.

Allied to the ruling party, leaders of the PL and PSD have historically served in different government positions.

Kagame, 66, has ruled over Rwanda for decades. He won the presidency in elections in 2003, 2010 and 2017 – with more than 90 percent of the vote. Critics and rights groups accuse him of ruling in a climate of fear that stifles dissent and free speech.

Rwanda will hold presidential and parliamentary polls on July 15.

Source:Daily Post Uganda

Meanwhile:

Rwanda cannot carry DR Congo’s burdens, says Kagame

President Paul Kagame has said Rwanda cannot continue to be blamed for DR Congo’s problems, especially the insecurity in the east of the country. In an interview with Radio10 and Royal FM on Monday, April 1, Kagame said Rwanda had “for too long” been blamed for its neighbour’s problems, adding that it was time for the Congolese people to take stock of “their own governance issues.” “The problem in eastern Congo originates from Congo and its leadership,” he said. “Sometimes, people put Congo’s burden on Rwanda’s shoulders. DR Congo’s burden should be carried by the Congolese people and their leaders and not by Rwandans or Rwandan leaders. For too long, we have been made to carry Congo’s burden; enough is enough.” ALSO READ: FDLR integration into DR Congo army must be addressed – Kagame “We have our own problems which we need to solve; we cannot carry another country’s burden. In Congo, the problem is multifaceted, and there is a lot of geopolitics,” he said, adding that certain countries were ready to do whatever the Congolese leaders wanted just “not to lose Congo,” to China or Russia. “I don’t have a problem with anyone getting anything from Congo, but if you want to take resources from Congo why do they have to make me carry Congo’s problems. The problem should be simple,” he said. ALSO READ: Rwanda ensures defence measures amid ‘serious threat’ from DR Congo The president noted that DR Congo had “its own governance issues” in addition to the persecution of its Kinyarwanda-speaking communities, especially the Tutsi, and the presence of the FDLR, which is supported by the Congolese government. “On the question of the rights of the Congolese Rwandophones, they shouldn’t beg for their rights. They deserve to be given their rights and if they don’t get it, that will result in wars, which we see today. How else could it be resolved? You cannot make people refugees in the countries neighbouring Congo, here in Rwanda, in Uganda and Burundi, while others are killed and chased from their properties. “It is up to Congo’s leaders to find solutions for their problems. No one will do that for them, not even the UN,” Kagame said. Genocide in DR Congo As Rwanda prepares for the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Kagame has expressed his concern that persecution and killings of the Tutsi in eastern DR Congo mirrored the Rwandan tragedy. ALSO READ: ‘Stop Genocide’: Congolese refugees demand peace at home The Rwandan President said the targeted killings are perpetrated by the FDLR, a militia linked to the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which is supported by Congolese leaders. “In 2024, we remember what happened in Rwanda, but in the region, there is a similar situation, when you look at the people being killed in eastern Congo, the more than 100,000 refugees we have here who fled persecution and killings because they are Tutsi,” Kagame said. ALSO READ: Kagame condemns ‘primitive politics’ driving DR Congo, Burundi, FDLR collabo He denounced the support given to the FDLR by the Congolese government and the resurgence of ethnic-driven politics in the Great Lakes Region. “The perpetrators of the Genocide in Rwanda, who fled in 1994, have since collaborated with the governments in Congo. And what they are doing today amounts to a genocide,” Kagame noted. ALSO READ: Rwanda raises concerns over DR Congo arming FDLR, indigenous armed groups “What you have in eastern Congo is the FDLR, the Congolese government and Burundi, which joined them recently,” said the Rwandan leader, reiterating that the region had not learnt lessons from the Rwandan experience. “However,” he said, “primitivity is not a problem only in Africa. Even in developed countries, when their politics is driven by racism it appears like they are still [primitive], yet you would think they had developed in terms of thinking and politics. I call it primitivity because that is how I see it. No one has ever benefited from that.”

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