Paul Kagame Rwanda’s President while on the presidential campaign trail
It’s all jubilation for the supporters of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, after he emerged winner of Rwanda’s presidential election, with 99.15% of the vote.
He was running against two other candidates who included Frank Habineza and Philippe Mpayimana.
While eight candidates had applied to run against him, only two were retained in the final list validated by the electoral commission.
According to Monday’s partial results, President Kagame, who has been the de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and officially president since 2000, clinched a decisive election victory, extending his authoritarian rule for another five years.
The National Election Commission officially announced that with 79% of ballots counted, Kagame secured 99.15% of the vote. Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party garnered just 0.53% of the vote, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana received 0.32%.
The outcome was widely anticipated, given accusations against the incumbent’s regime of suppressing the media and political opposition and barring several prominent critics from the race.
Full provisional results are due by July 20, while definitive results will come out on July 27.
With 65% of the population aged under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known. 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.
The 66-year-old is credited with rebuilding a traumatized nation after the genocide. However, he is also accused of ruling in a climate of fear at home and fomenting instability in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, where he reportedly backs the M23 rebel militia.
Kagame’s RPF militia is lauded for ending the 1994 genocide when it marched on Kigali and ousted the Hutu extremists who had unbridled 100 days of bloodshed targeting the Tutsi minority.
The perpetrators reportedly massacred around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis and Hutu moderates.
Paul Kagame casting his vote
Kagame has overseen a remarkable economic recovery, where the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by an average of 7.2% per year between 2012 and 2022.
The World Bank however, says the growth has been of no consequence, since almost half the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.
