Diane Rwigara, who has been an outspoken critic of Rwandan President Kagame, has been banned from running for president next month.
Only Mr Kagame and two other politicians – Frank Habineza of the Democratic Greens and independent Filipe Mpaimana – were removed from the electoral commission.
Mr. Rwigara, who was also eliminated in the 2017 opinion poll, expressed his disappointment with Mr. Kagame through X (formerly Twitter).
“Why don’t you let me run? “This is the second time you have defrauded me of my right to campaign,” she said.
The 42-year-old leader of the People’s Salvation Movement (PSM) previously told the BBC’s Newsday program that she hoped she would be able to hold on this time.
“I represent the majority of Rwandans who live in fear and cannot enjoy freedom in their country,” she said.
“Rwanda is described as a country with a growing economy. But it’s different in the field. “People lack basic sustenance, food, water and shelter.”
But in announcing the provisional list of candidates, the Electoral Commission said Mr Rwigara had failed to provide accurate documentation to prove he had no criminal record.
She also said she has failed to show she has enough support nationwide to stand.
“In response to the requirement of 600 supporting signatures, she did not provide at least 12 signatures from eight constituencies,” Electoral Commission Chairman Oda Gaschinjiwa said.
Another reason given by the committee was that Mr. Rwigara failed to prove that he was Rwandan by birth. She once had Belgian citizenship, but she renounced it in 2017, before making her final bid to become a candidate.
But Mr Rwigara told the BBC he was born in Rwanda and dismissed all other grounds for refusing to run.
Rwanda’s Central Election Commission received applications from a total of nine presidential candidates. The final list is expected to be published next Friday as appeals submitted earlier in the process are still being considered. But at this stage it is too late for PSM leaders to appeal.
In 2017, he was banned from competing after being accused of forging supporters’ signatures on application forms.
Mr. Rwigara was imprisoned for over a year. Found not guilty on charges of inciting rebellion and forgery in 2018. She said the charges were politically motivated.
Rwandan court last March It blocked efforts by prominent opposition figure Victoire Ingabire to lift the ban. About her presidential run.
She was released in 2018 after spending eight years in prison on charges of endangering national security and “downplaying” the 1994 genocide.
In Rwanda, anyone who has been imprisoned for more than six months cannot run for election.
The two approved candidates, Mr Habineza and Mr Mpaimana, were also the only candidates approved to run against Mr Kagame in the 2017 elections.
Mr. Kagame is running for a fourth term. This could extend his presidential term by nearly 30 years. Should he win?
He won the 2017 presidential election with nearly 99% of the vote.
The 66-year-old president has been criticized by human rights groups for cracking down on the opposition.
But he has always fiercely defended Rwanda’s human rights record, saying the country respects political freedoms.
