Habineza of Green Party says he will win the poll by 60 per cent.
Rwanda’s opposition presidential candidates have weathered many challenges in their bid to vie for the top seat in the country. Now, in the homestretch, they are exuding confidence that they will give incumbent President Paul Kagame a run for his money.
Some analysts say the president is expected to win the August 4 election by a landslide. But, his two opponents, Democratic Green Party’s Frank Habineza and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent say the people will decide.
Mr Habineza, the head of the only opposition party in the country, says he will win the poll by 60 per cent while Mr Mpayimana has declared that the people appreciate his manifesto, which will get him the votes needed to win the election.
Lack of data
Scientific polls have not been conducted to provide data on the possible outcomes of the election, but the two opposition candidates have been met by a handful of people at rallies while the Rwanda Patriotic Front campaigns have attracted huge crowds.
If the size of the crowd at rallies was used to gauge a winner, then President Kagame would carry the day.
“Crowd size means nothing. Not everyone who attends a Kagame rally will vote for him. Many of them attend because they do not want to appear defiant to their local leaders,” said Mr Habineza.
His views are shared by Mr Mpayimana, who says that he has a better manifesto. However some of his proposals are controversial. For example, he has promised to commission research on “witchcraft” that can be used to protect farms. He was met with ridicule, despite hoping to win over farmers in the rural areas.