Rwanda will not withdraw the candidacy of Louise Mushikiwabo for re-election as Secretary-General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe has said.

Nduhungirehe made the clarification after The New Times asked him about foreign media reports alleging that French President Emmanuel Macron had asked President Paul Kagame to withdraw Mushikiwabo’s candidacy.

The election is scheduled for November 16, during the 20th Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Mushikiwabo faces three challengers: Mauritania’s Coumba Bâ, Juliana Amato Lumumba of DR Congo, and former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș.

The election will be decided by the OIF’s 53 full members, who have voting rights in the selection of the Secretary-General.

Although the organisation comprises 90 member states and governments, its membership also includes five associate members and 32 observers, who do not vote in the election.