KIGALI: Rwandan President Paul Kagame was gearing up Tuesday for a fourth term after winning a thundering 99.15 percent of votes according to partial results from an election where only two challengers were allowed to run against him.
The outcome of Monday's poll was never in doubt, with Kagame ruling the small African nation with an iron fist as de facto leader then president for three decades.
Partial results issued by the election commission seven hours after polls closed showed that Kagame had won 99.15 percent of the vote -- even more than the 98.79 percent he got in the last poll seven years ago.
Democratic Green Party candidate Frank Habineza could only muster 0.53 percent and independent Philippe Mpayimana 0.32 percent, according to the results issued with 79 percent of ballots counted.
In an address from the headquarters of his ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the 66-year-old thanked Rwandans for giving him another five years in office. "The results that have been presented indicate a very high score, these are not just figures, even if it was 100 percent, these are not just numbers," he said. "These figures show the trust, and that is what is most important," he added. "I am hopeful that together we can solve all problems."
With 65 percent of the population aged under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known. The bespectacled 66-year-old is credited with rebuilding a traumatised nation after the 1994 genocide.
Over nine million Rwandans -- including two million first-time voters -- were registered to cast their ballot, with the presidential race being held simultaneously as legislative elections for the first time.
In Kigali's Nyabugogo market, shoppers were upbeat and unsurprised by the result.
"The reason he gets such high votes, which should be 100 percent, is because Rwandans love him," pensioner Frederick Bayingana said, listing Kagame's accomplishments in providing "development", "drinking water" and "security".
Full provisional results are due by July 20 and definitive results by July 27. "In general, the electoral process happened in a safe and transparent atmosphere for Rwandans living abroad and at home," the National Electoral Commission said. Kagame won with more than 93 percent of the vote in 2003, 2010 and in 2017, when he again easily defeated the same two challengers.
He has overseen controversial constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms from seven to five years but reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034. — AFP
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