Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo, candidate for the head of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), said she confident and optimistic that she will be elected as OIF Secretary General in the forthcoming elections

Minister Mushikiwabo was speaking on Thursday during an Interview with TV5 Monde

“I have a lot of support for this position” and “not only on the African continent”, assured the head of the Rwandan diplomacy, which is a favorite against the outgoing secretary general, the Canadian Michaëlle Jean.

After “two months when I went around the world, (…) I am confident, I go to Erevan with a smile,” added Louise Mushikiwabo, a few weeks from the summit of the OIF planned the October 11 and 12 in the Armenian capital.

The 57-year-old Rwandan diplomat has received the support of French President Emmanuel Macron, who wants to see the leadership of the OIF return to an African.

She was also assured in July of the “collective support” of the leaders of the African Union (AU).

“I was very moved by the support of the continent,” she said Thursday. “I am the African candidate and, for me, it is a pride”.

The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, the AU’s current Chair, put all his weight behind the candidacy of Ms Mushikiwabo.

Denounced in particular by some NGOs for human rights violations, the small country of the Great Lakes region announced mid-September the surprise release of 2,140 prisoners.

“It has nothing to do, really, with the Francophonie,” said Ms. Mushikiwabo, asked about the timing of this announcement.

“The recent release of prisoners in Rwanda has to do with the course of justice of my country and the prerogative of the head of state, within the framework of the Constitution of Rwanda where presidential pardon is planned”, she stressed.

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