Monrovia, Liberia – Provisional results indicate that Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, received almost 99 percent of the vote, guaranteeing him a fourth term in power, according to electoral authorities.
After the courts barred his most vocal critics, Kagame, who had been the de facto leader of the nation for thirty years, only had two opponents.
After 79 percent of the votes were tabulated, the National Electoral Commission announced late on Monday that Kagame had won 99 percent of the vote.
According to the commission, Philippe Mpayimana, an independent, won 0.32 percent of the vote, while Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda received 0.53 percent.
Kagame’s vote share surpasses the 98.7% he received in the 2017 election. Eight additional applicants were disqualified by the commission due to a variety of incomplete registration forms.
Final results must be received by July 27; all tentative results must be sent by July 20. 66-year-old President Kagame, who has held the office since 2000, thanked the public in a speech from the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) headquarters for granting him a fourth term.
Most Rwandans have only ever known Kagame as a leader, with 65 percent of the population being under 30.
He is praised for having helped to reconstruct a country that was devastated by the 1994 genocide, but he is also charged for inciting unrest in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo and running the country in an atmosphere of terror.
Leaders in Africa, including Kagame, have extended their tenure by advocating for modifications to term restrictions. Rwandans decided to remove the two-term restriction in a referendum held in 2015. With this, Kagame might hold in power until 2034 according to Aljazeera.
