Kagame wins Rwanda vote in landslide …partial results show
Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, is on course to extend his 24-year rule by another five years in a landslide victory, with most of the votes counted from Monday’s election.
He has 99.15% of the vote so far, with about 79% of ballots counted, partial results announced by the electoral commission show.
The 66-year-old again faced no meaningful opposition, with leading figures banned. His two opponents shared less than 1% of the vote.
Mr Kagame thanked Rwandans for their trust in 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 ex-journalist and government adviser, Philippe Mpayimana – have 0.53% and 0.32% respectively.
The full provisional results are due by July 20 and final ones by July 27.
The results come as no surprise.
They mirror the 2017 election’s outcome that had the same candidates taking part – which Mr Kagame won with 98.8% of the vote.
At least three aspirants were disqualified from running, including Diane Rwigara, an outspoken critic of Mr Kagame.
The electoral commission says 98% of the more than 9.5 million eligible voters took part in the elections.
They were voting for a president and 53 legislators.
