Rwanda President, Paul Kagame, has indicated interest to run for a fourth term next year, hoping to extend his hold on power to nearly three decades.
In an interview with the pan-African Jeune Afrique magazine, the president confirmed that he is a candidate in the upcoming 2024 election, and he is ready to repay the “confidence that the Rwandans have shown in me.”
Reacting to question on what would the West think about his ambition to seek re-election next year, Kagame said: “Personally, I no longer know what corresponds to Western values. What is democracy? The West dictating to others what they should do? But if they violate their own principles, how do we listen to them?
“Seeking to transplant democracy to someone else is already a violation of democracy in itself. People are supposed to be independent and should be allowed to organise themselves as they wish.”
The controversial president in 2017, secured victory after getting 99 per cent of votes cast as more than 6.6 million votes were cast for the incumbent president and just over 80,000 cast for the two opposition candidates.
Kagame has won international praise for the stability and economic development he has brought to Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, when an estimated 800,000 people were killed.
However, he has also been accused of running an authoritarian, one-party state.
Despite some discontent over joblessness and other issues, the president appears authentically popular in Rwanda, which has had some of the fastest economic growth rates in Africa and has become known for its stability in a deeply troubled region.
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