Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo on Wednesday submitted her papers to formalize her bid to head the La Francophonie secretariat.Mushikiwabo wants to replace the incumbent Secretary General of La Francophonie, Michaelle Jean of Canada, who has been occupying the position since 2014.

Mushikiwabo’s papers were submitted to the President of Madagascar, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, the current chairman of French-speaking nations “Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie” (OIF), also known as La Francophonie.

Submitting the documents was part of the process to officially start her campaign, and it was said that the documents submitted include a statement of consent to run for the office, confirmations of biographical data, as well as income and property ownership data.

The OIF elections are scheduled to take place on October 11-12 in Everan, the capital city of Romania.

Since 2009, Ms. Mushikiwabo has been the East African country’s top diplomat and the Rwandan government has been drumming up support for her.

Meanwhile, some experts on La Francophonie have said the outgoing Secretary General of ‘La Francophonie’, Michaelle Jean, 60, a Haiti-born Canadian, whose term expires in mid-October, could face a tough battle in her bid for La Francophonie re-election.

In late May 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron said he supported a bid to appoint Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo as secretary general of the OIF, which comprises 84 states and observers.