Rwanda: Polling Stations Open As Kagame Set to Extend 24-Year Rule

Polling stations opened across Rwanda for presidential and parliamentary elections on Monday with the African nation’s leader Paul Kagame set to extend his rule for another five years.

Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and president since 2000, Kagame faces only two challengers after several prominent critics were barred from standing election.

Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party, and independent Philippe Mpayimana were the only two candidates approved to run against Kagame out of eight contestants.

Kagame — who is running for a fourth term — is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.

The 66-year-old is credited with rebuilding a traumatised nation after the genocide unleashed by Hutu extremists that killed around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi but also Hutu moderates.

But his regime is widely criticised by rights groups as autocratic, stifling the media and political opposition with arbitrary detentions, killings, and enforced disappearances.

Abroad, it faces accusations of stoking instability in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where a UN report says Rwandan troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels in the troubled east.

More than nine million Rwandans are registered to cast their ballot across 2,433 polling stations on Monday, with the presidential race being held at the same time as legislative elections for the first time.

Polls opened around 7:00 am (0500 GMT) and counting will begin as soon as they close at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), with partial results expected to be released as tallying progresses.

Ahead of the election, Amnesty International said Rwanda’s opposition faces “severe restrictions… as well as threats, arbitrary detention, prosecution, trumped-up charges, killings and enforced disappearances”.

Despite his many critics, Kagame enjoys great support in Rwanda.
While the World Bank says almost half the population lives on less than $2.15 a day, Kagame has overseen economic growth rates of an average of 7.2 per cent between 2012 and 2022 and the development of infrastructure including hospitals and roads.

“He has made great achievements, he has helped our children to go to school, increased the numbers of teachers, he also gave us health insurance,” Venantia Nyirangendo, 51, said during the final RPF rally.

“Without him in power, this country would collapse. It’s good that he is our leader, we all love him.”

AFP