Rwanda’s president Kagame smashes his own election record

According to the complete preliminary figures, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame broke his own record with over 99% of the vote. National Electoral Commission Chairperson Oda Gasinzigwa said 98.20% of the nine million registered voters cast ballots.

With 98.63% of the vote in the 2017 election, the 66-year-old defeated his previous highs of 93% in 2010 and 95% in 2003. Kagame was a former rebel commander. His forces overthrew the government in 1994 and put a stop to a genocide that killed around 800,000 people in just 100 days.

According to his detractors, Kagame’s resounding majorities are expected, given his iron grip on power.

But his defenders argue that they highlight his enormous popularity and that Rwanda has prospered economically and stabilised under his leadership.

The election commission disqualified at least three presidential candidates, including the president’s most outspoken detractors.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) campaigner Clementine de Montjoye stated, “Kagame’s unprecedented score of over 99% in the election should be seen as a reflection of just how limited political space for the opposition is in Rwanda today,” according to the AFP news agency.

The result “does not bode well for anyone seeking to engage in legitimate and credible opposition activities”, she stated.

However, President Yoweri Museveni of neighbouring Uganda lauded Mr. Kagame’s win and said that his reelection was a “testament to the trust and confidence” Rwandans had in his leadership.

Although Rwanda’s youth unemployment rate remains high, the country’s economy is developing at one of Africa’s quickest rates. Amidst tensions with neighbouring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kagame pledged during the campaign trail to defend Rwanda from “external aggression.”

Both candidates opposing him, independent Philippe Mpayimana and Democratic Green Party member Frank Habineza, accepted loss in Monday’s election.