Rwanda court upholds ban on convicted politicians in election

Rwanda’s High Court denied the request of opposition politician and dissident Victoire Ingabire on Wednesday to lift a legal restriction barring convicted individuals from running in the upcoming July presidential elections. Ingabire, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2013 for terrorism and genocide denial, sought clearance to contest in the polls scheduled for July 15.

Having spent eight years behind bars, the 55-year-old received a presidential pardon in 2018. In a bid to overturn the ban on convicted candidates who have served a sentence of six months or longer, Ingabire petitioned the court last month, asserting compliance with the conditions set upon her release.

However, the High Court in Kigali dismissed Ingabire’s plea, citing that the conviction could not be overturned as the conditions tied to her presidential pardon remained unfulfilled. Moreover, the court stated that Ingabire cannot appeal this decision for the next two years.

In response to the verdict, Ingabire expressed concerns over the independence of the judiciary, the curtailment of political rights, and the stifling of dissenting voices in Rwanda. She emphasized the significance of the decision, especially in the context of the upcoming election, lamenting the obstacles to political participation and advocating for governance reforms.

Ingabire, who returned to Rwanda in 2010 from The Netherlands where she had resided since 1994, faced accusations of denying the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Her troubles escalated after she called for the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes against members of the Hutu majority ethnic group in January 2010.

As President Paul Kagame vies for a fourth term in office in the forthcoming July elections, having been endorsed by his ruling party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), last week, the political landscape in Rwanda remains tense amidst debates over democracy and political inclusivity.

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