President Paul Kagame has achieved a decisive election victory, extending his rule by another five years.
According to partial results released by the National Election Commission on Monday, Kagame secured 99.15 percent of the vote with 79 percent of ballots counted.
Kagame, who has been Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and has served as president since 2000, surpassed his previous election performance of 98.79 percent in 2017.
His opponents, Democratic Green Party candidate Frank Habineza and independent Philippe Mpayimana, received 0.53 percent and 0.32 percent of the vote, respectively.
The outcome of the election was widely anticipated, given Kagame’s strong grip on power. He has been accused of suppressing opposition and barring several prominent critics from the race.
Despite these allegations, Kagame has consistently dismissed accusations of political repression, positioning himself as a candidate of stability.
The election saw a high voter turnout, with 98 percent of the 9 million registered voters casting their ballots.
“Of the 78.94 percent of votes counted, Kagame leads with 99.15 percent,” announced Oda Gasinzigwa, chair of the National Electoral Commission, on the national broadcaster Monday evening.
Campaign groups, including Human Rights Watch, have criticized the Rwandan authorities for cracking down on journalists, opposition members, and civil society groups ahead of the vote.
Kagame’s re-election is expected to bring a measure of political stability to Rwanda, but it also invites continued global scrutiny due to ongoing accusations of human rights abuses and allegations of supporting rebels in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo—charges Kagame has denied.
