{"id":107898,"date":"2023-09-20T18:04:15","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T17:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=107898"},"modified":"2023-09-20T18:04:15","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T17:04:15","slug":"rwandas-president-says-hell-run-for-a-fourth-term-and-doesnt-care-what-the-west-thinks-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/rwandas-president-says-hell-run-for-a-fourth-term-and-doesnt-care-what-the-west-thinks-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda\u2019s president says he\u2019ll run for a fourth term and doesn\u2019t care what the West thinks about it"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rwanda\u2019s president, Paul Kagame, declared he would run for a fourth term next year, saying that \u201cwhat the West thinks is not my problem,\u201d after the United States and others criticized the past lifting of term limits to extend his rule.<\/div>\n
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\nPresident Kagame made the announcement in an interview with the French-language publication Jeune Afrique published Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The 65-year-old Kagame has been president since 2000 and was declared the winner of the previous election in 2017 with more than 98% of the vote.<\/p>\n

He has been the de facto leader since Rwanda\u2019s 1994 genocide.<\/p>\n

He is one of a number of African leaders who have prolonged their rule by pursuing changes to term limits.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Rwandans in a referendum voted to lift the two-term limit.<\/p>\n

Kagame could stay in power until 2034 if he wins a five-year term next year and then another.<\/p>\n

He was re-elected as chair of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front party earlier this year for another five-year term.<\/p>\n

Rwanda is \u201cnot free,\u201d according to the U.S.-based watchdog Freedom House, whose latest report notes that the ruling party has been in power without interruption since 1994, \u201cbanning and repressing any opposition group that could mount a serious challenge to its leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kagame and his government have received praise for stabilizing the country and developing public health and the economy since the genocide in which more than 800,000 people were killed. But human rights groups and other critics have long alleged that the government harshly targets opponents, including with extrajudicial killings even far outside the country\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n

The government has objected to and dismissed such allegations. But earlier this year, under diplomatic pressure, Rwanda released the opposition exile who had inspired the film \u201cHotel Rwanda\u201d after tricking Paul Rusesabagina onto a plane to the country and convicting him of terror offenses in a widely criticized trial.<\/p>\n

The other candidate who has declared to run for president is lawmaker Frank Habineza with the Green Democratic party, who received 0.45% of votes in 2017.<\/p>\n

Habineza told The Associated Press his party was not surprised by Kagame\u2019s announcement, and he said they will continue to fight for democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we speak now, there is a high level of poverty and people have no food and youth have no jobs. This is what bothers Rwandans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But some Kagame supporters believe he needs more time. William Harerimana, a 53-year-old businessman said that \u201cwe need to be patient a bit more and under him, the country will register more economic growth and benefit all Rwandans.”<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda\u2019s president, Paul Kagame, declared he would run for a fourth term next year, saying that \u201cwhat the West thinks is not my problem,\u201d after the United States and others…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":107899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRwanda\u2019s president says he\u2019ll run for a fourth term and doesn\u2019t care what the West thinks about it - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/rwandas-president-says-hell-run-for-a-fourth-term-and-doesnt-care-what-the-west-thinks-about-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rwanda\u2019s president says he\u2019ll run for a fourth term and doesn\u2019t care what the West thinks about it - 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