Rwandan President Paul Kagame has said for the first time that he plans to run for a fourth term in elections due to be held next year.
“Yes, I am indeed a candidate,” Kagame, who has ruled over the country with an iron fist for decades, told Jeune Afrique, a French-language news magazine, in an interview published online on Tuesday.
“I am pleased with the confidence that Rwandans have placed in me. I will always serve them, as long as I can,” the 65-year-old was quoted as saying.
The Rwandan government in March decided to synchronise the dates for its parliamentary and presidential elections, which are due to be held in August next year.
Kagame had previously not made his intentions clear, but has presided over controversial constitutional amendments that allowed him to serve a third term.
A former rebel chief, Kagame has been regarded as the country’s de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide.
He won a third term in 2017, taking home nearly 99 percent of the vote.