Following a subdued election campaign featuring just two parties, 9.7 million Rwandans are set to vote next week to elect a president and members of parliament for the next five years. President Paul Kagame, who has been in power for 30 years since the 1994 genocide, is expected to win the election once again. Despite performing poorly in the previous presidential election, two opposition candidates with little support are challenging Kagame and his ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) coalition. Several other candidates were disqualified from running. Tensions between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have escalated, with Kinshasa accusing Kigali of supporting the M23 rebel group in the eastern DRC, a claim denied by Kigali. The election is also taking place following the collapse of an asylum seeker deportation deal with the United Kingdom. After the Labour Party’s victory in the UK elections, the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the agreement would be scrapped. Here is an overview of the key candidates and issues in Rwanda’s upcoming elections.
