Kagame Secures Landslide Victory in Rwanda Election - Partial Results Announced

Paul Kagame is set for a fourth term as president after electoral authorities declared him the winner of the Rwanda presidential election, with 99.15 percent of the votes.

This marks the fourth presidential election since the genocide 30 years ago, in which over 800,000 people, mostly from the Tutsi ethnic minority, were killed.

Election Day in Rwanda.

Rwandans living in Kenya turned up to exercise their democratic right in Nairobi.

Kagame, who led the Rwandan Patriotic Front rebel group to defeat Hutu extremist forces and end the genocide, was elected president by parliament in 2000 following the resignation of Pasteur Bizimungu.

President Kagame (center) while meeting Artists late last week. 

In the three previous elections, Kagame won more than 93% of the vote each time. Eight candidates applied to run against him, but only two made it to the final list approved by the electoral commission. The others, including some of Kagame's most vocal critics, were disqualified for various reasons, such as prior criminal convictions.

At the Rwandexco polling center in Kigali, people began queuing 90 minutes before the polls opened.

De facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and president since 2000, Kagame secured 99.15 percent of the vote, the National Election Commission announced after 79 percent of ballots were counted.

This surpasses the 98.79 percent he won in the 2017 election and far exceeds the votes received by the only two candidates permitted to run against him.

Kagame is seeking a fourth term on the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) ticket after a 2015 constitutional amendment extended presidential term limits.

The 66-year-old faced no significant opposition, as leading figures were banned from running. His two opponents received less than 1% of the vote combined.

Mr. Kagame thanked Rwandans for their trust during an address at his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) party headquarters. “These are not just figures, even if it was 100%, these are not just numbers. [They] show the trust, and that is what is most important," Mr. Kagame said.

His opponents, environmentalist Frank Habineza and former journalist and government adviser Philippe Mpayimana, received 0.53% and 0.32% of the vote, respectively.

The full provisional results are expected by July 20, with the final results due by July 27.

The result of Monday's poll was anticipated, with Kagame accused of silencing the opposition and barring several prominent critics from the race.

Kagame is praised for transforming Rwanda from a nation of ethnic division into a united country and regional business hub. However, critics accuse his administration of censorship and curtailing human rights in the country of 13 million people, over 9 million of whom were eligible to vote in Monday’s election.

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