Opponent Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, was sworn in Saturday by his party candidate in the presidential election scheduled for next year.
Frank Habineza is expected to face President Paul Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda with an iron fist for decades and won a third term in 2017 with nearly 99 percent of the vote.
A former rebel leader, Kagame has been seen as the country's de facto ruler since the end of the 1994 genocide.
Habineza was nominated, unopposed, by about 200 party members at a congress held in Kigali on Saturday.
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We will continue our fight for democracy, freedom of expression, media freedom and human rights," he told a news conference after the vote.
Kagame has not declared his intention to run for a fourth time but has ensured the passage of controversial constitutional amendments that have secured his third term and could see him lead the country until 2034.
The government decided in March to synchronize the dates of parliamentary and presidential elections, which are due to be held in August 2024.
Habineza ran against Kagame in the 2017 presidential election, coming in third place with a result below 1% of the vote.
His party, one of only two opposition parties recognised by the government, won two seats in parliament for the first time in 2018.
In 2017, Washington said it was "disturbed by irregularities" during the presidential election.
Several opposition parties - including the United Democratic Forces (UDF) - are not officially recognized and cannot participate in Rwanda's elections.
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UDF leader Victoire Ingabire was arrested in 2010 while campaigning against Kagame. She was jailed for eight years on terrorism charges before being released following a presidential pardon. The only other opposition party recognized by the government, the PS-Imberakuri, also has two deputies in parliament.
