Rwandan President Paul Kagame was preparing to run for a fourth term on Tuesday, having won 99.15 percent of the vote in an election with only two competitors allowed.
The results of Monday’s election were never in doubt, with Kagame dominating the small African country with an iron fist as de facto leader and then president for three decades.
The election commission published partial results seven hours after polls closed, showing that Kagame had won 99.15 percent of the vote – more than the 98.79 percent he received in the previous ballot seven years earlier.
According to the results, Democratic Green Party candidate Frank Habineza received 0.53 percent and independent Philippe Mpayimana received 0.32 percent, with 79 percent of votes counted.
In an address from the headquarters of his ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the 66-year-old praised Rwandans for another five years in power.
“The results that have been presented indicate a very high score, these are not just figures, even if it was 100 percent, these are not just numbers,” he said.
“These figures show the trust, and that is what is most important,” he added.
“I am hopeful that together we can solve all problems.”
‘Safe and Transparent’
Full provisional results are due by July 20 and definitive results by July 27.
“In general, the electoral process happened in a safe and transparent atmosphere for Rwandans living abroad and at home,” the National Electoral Commission said in a statement.
With 65 percent of the population aged under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.
The bespectacled 66-year-old leader is credited with rebuilding a traumatised nation after the 1994 genocide — but he is also accused of ruling in a climate of fear at home, and fomenting instability in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Over nine million Rwandans — about two million first-time voters — were registered to cast their ballot, with the presidential race being held at the same time as legislative elections for the first time.
“(Kagame) gives us everything we ask him, such as health insurance. This is why he wins by a big margin,” said 34-year-old mechanic Francois Rwabakina.
Kagame won with more than 93 percent of the vote in 2003, 2010 and in 2017, when he again easily defeated the same two challengers.
He has overseen controversial constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms from seven to five years and reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.
‘Severe Restrictions’
Rwandan courts had rejected petitions from key opposition politicians Bernard Ntaganda and Victoire Ingabire to have previous convictions removed, thus excluding them from Monday’s vote.
The electoral commission also prohibited Diane Rwigara, a prominent Kagame critic, from running, citing paperwork concerns – her second exclusion.
Prior to the referendum, Amnesty International said that Rwanda’s political opposition experienced severe limitations, including threats, arbitrary arrest, prosecution, fabricated charges, killings, and enforced disappearances.
The disparity between the candidates became clear during the three-week campaign, when the ruling RPF’s well-oiled PR machine kicked into high gear.
The party’s red, white, and blue colours, as well as its slogans “Tora Kagame Paul” (“Vote Paul Kagame”) and “PK24” (“Paul Kagame 2024”), were visible everywhere.
His adversaries struggled to make their voices heard, with hardly 100 people attending some events.
Kagame’s RPF militia is praised for putting a stop to the 1994 genocide when it marched into Kigali, displacing Hutu extremists who had unleashed 100 days of bloodshed against the Tutsi minority.
The criminals slaughtered about 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.
Kagame has led a stunning economic recovery, with GDP increasing by an average of 7.2 percent per year between 2012 and 2022, despite the fact that the World Bank estimates that over half of the population lives on less than $2.15 per day.
However, Kigali is accused of intervening in the volatile eastern DRC, where UN reports claim her troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels.
In the legislative election, 589 candidates competed for 80 seats, with 53 elected by universal suffrage.
In the previous session, the RPF held 40 seats, its allies 11, and Habineza’s party had two.
Another 27 spaces are earmarked for women, children, and individuals with impairments.