Four cleared to contest presidency

Rwanda’s National Electoral Commission has approved four candidates to contest the country’s first post-genocide presidential elections, scheduled for 25 August.

At the end of Friday's deadline for presentation of documents proving eligibility, the commission cleared four of six candidates who had declared their interest in the presidency.

The approved candidates are the incumbent, President Paul Kagame, former Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu, a woman candidate, Alvera Mukabaramba; and former Member of Parliament Nepomuscene Nayinzira.

"These are now the officially recognised candidates for the presidential race," Chrysologue Karangwa, president of the National Electoral Commission, said.

The presidential poll will mark an end to the nine-year transition to democracy led by Kagame's government of national unity, which was installed after the 1994 genocide that claimed the lives of at least 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.

Karangwa said the two candidates who failed to gain the commission's approval had presented insufficient numbers of voters on their lists of supporters.

Rwanda recently passed a new law governing presidential and parliamentary polls, which allows those contesting as independents to present a list of 600 supporters, at least 30 from each of the country's 12 provinces.

One of the disqualified candidates turned up for registration without a single name on his list of supporters, commission officials said.

"These two failed to fulfil the requirements set under this organic law, we therefore declare their bid for presidency null and void," Karangwa said.

Kagame and Mukabaramba are each backed by a political party while Twagiramungu and Nayinzira are contesting as independents.

Apart from Kagame, the other three presidential aspirants are from the majority Hutu ethnic community.

The candidates are due to begin public campaigns on 1 August.