Rwanda’s Paul Kagame secured five more years as president after taking 99 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary results, in an election that served to underscore his dominance over the east African nation.
Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda secured 0.53 per cent of the votes counted, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana got 0.32 per cent.
Preliminary results were released late on Monday with 7mn votes counted out of the 9mn registered voters. Turnout was 98 per cent.
Kagame’s dominance over two lesser-known opponents in Monday’s vote was in line with previous tallies since he was first elected president in 2000.
The 66-year-old, who first became Rwanda’s vice-president after leading the guerrilla force that halted the 1994 genocide of the country’s Tutsi population by Hutu extremists, also won a 99 per cent vote share in the 2017 presidential election.
Supporters credit Kagame with bringing development to the county of 13mn people while forging a sense of identity from the ashes of one of the worst genocides in history.
Others, however, dispute claims of an economic miracle, saying official figures for an economy dominated by his Rwandan Patriotic Front are manipulated. Kagame’s administration has also been condemned for backing the M23 rebel group menacing the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kagame’s commitment to democracy has been questioned, although he continues to enjoy warm relations with western capitals.
Two prominent opponents, Victoire Ingabire and Bernard Ntaganda, could not contest the presidential vote. The Rwandan courts rejected attempts to remove their convictions, which prevented them from standing.
“There’s no free and fair election here. There’s no democracy,” said Ingabire, who was jailed on terrorism and other charges after standing against Kagame. “Nobody can really challenge Kagame” in an election, she added.
Kagame had been due to step down in 2017, but a constitutional referendum in 2015 allowed him to run for up to three more terms as leader, which could result in his staying in power until 2034.
The president has defended the system that has kept him in power for three decades. He and his supporters say critics fail to take into account the extraordinary circumstances of the genocide, in which state-backed extremists slaughtered 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
“Democracy is often misunderstood or interpreted differently by people, but we have our own understanding based on the unique reality of Rwandans,” the president told supporters at a rally last month.
Gatete Nyiringabo Ruhumuliza, a senior fellow at the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research-Rwanda think-tank, who supports Kagame, said: “To many, Kagame’s endorsements and repeated elections, in record numbers, are a sign of a lack of political pluralism. To Rwandans, however, it’s an exercise of self-affirmation and self-preservation.”
Human rights groups say the Rwandan regime harasses and jails opponents and dissidents and that its agents have killed political opponents at home and abroad, something the Kagame government denies.
“Rwanda’s opposition continue to face severe restrictions to their right to freedom of association, as well as threats, arbitrary detention, prosecution on trumped-up charges, killings and enforced disappearances,” Amnesty wrote recently.
Diane Rwigara, another would-be challenger prevented from standing, said Kagame’s huge victory margin was because Rwandans were “terrified” to go against him.
Rwigara is the daughter of Assinapol Rwigara, an industrialist who fell out with the party leadership and later died in a car crash that his family consider to be suspicious.
Yolande Makolo, a Kagame aide, countered that Diane Rwigara had “failed to provide the necessary documentation to be approved as a candidate. As for Victoire Ingabire, she’s neither an opposition leader nor a defender of democracy. She’s an unrepentant criminal who was convicted of plotting to overthrow the government.”
Makolo added: “In countries around the world, including the UK, criminals are not allowed to run for office. Rwanda is no different.”
Kagame’s dealings with the west includes the £240mn agreement with the UK that sought to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s new prime minister, announced last week that the “gimmick” was “dead and buried”, although Kigali insisted it was not required to refund the money.
Richard Moncrieff, Great Lakes director at the Crisis Group think-tank, said western capitals were likely to maintain their support for Kagame. “Rwanda remains firmly a western ally,” he said.
Washington, Paris and Brussels have, however, demanded that Rwanda pull troops from DRC and halt support for the M23 rebels.
The UN said in a recent report that Rwanda had a “conservative estimate of 3,000 to 4,000” troops in DRC, although Kigali does not acknowledge this.
“There’s irrefutable evidence of Rwandan fingerprints around the M23 and there’s now the desire to make it clear to Kigali that they need to back off,” said Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at Chatham House. “These are real concerns.”
Read the full article here
