Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been re-elected with a resounding 99.18 percent of the vote, according to provisional results announced on Thursday. However, rights activists argue that the outcome underscores the lack of democracy in the country.
Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda as de facto leader and then president for three decades, won by an even larger margin than in the last presidential election seven years ago, where he secured 98.79 percent of the vote. The 66-year-old president will extend his rule by another five years.
In the recent election, Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza received just 0.5 percent of the vote, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana garnered 0.32 percent, as reported by the National Electoral Commission. Both men had also challenged Kagame in 2017 and were the only two candidates approved to run this year after several opposition figures were barred.
Kagame is credited with rebuilding Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, but he is also accused of ruling in a climate of fear and contributing to instability in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
While several regional leaders have congratulated Kagame on his fourth term, rights campaigners expressed dismay. Clementine de Montjoye, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that Kagame’s unprecedented score of over 99 percent reflects the limited political space for the opposition in Rwanda today. She added that the outcome “does not bode well for anyone seeking to engage in legitimate and credible opposition activities.”
