Rwanda’s all-powerful President Paul Kagame has been re-elected to a fourth term in office with 99.18 percent of the vote, according to full provisional results published Thursday.
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 and then president for three decades.
Garnering 8.82 million votes, the 66-year-old — who will extend his rule by another five years — won by an even greater margin than in the last presidential poll seven years ago, when he secured 98.79 percent.
Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza won just 0.5 percent in Monday’s vote while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana received 0.32 percent, according to figures from the National Electoral Commission.
The two men, who had also challenged Kagame in 2017, were the only two candidates approved to run this year after several opposition figures were barred.
Kagame is credited with rebuilding a shattered nation after the 1994 genocide, but is also accused of ruling in a climate of fear at home, and fomenting instability in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
He has won every presidential election he has contested with more than 93 percent of the ballot.
In 2015, Kagame oversaw 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.
With 65 percent of the population aged under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.
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.
Definitive results are due to be released by July 27.