Paul Kagame won a fourth term in office, with more than 99% of the vote in Rwanda’s recent presidential elections, according to partial results from the National Electoral Commission.
Kagame, who ran under the banner of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in the election on July 15, faced challengers Frank Habineza of the opposition Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana.
Both Habineza and Mpayimana congratulated him after collectively receiving less than 1% — 0.53% and 0.32% respectively.
Provisional results are expected this week, with final results on July 27.
The electoral authority reported a voter turnout of 98% among the approximately 9.5 million eligible voters.
Who is Paul Kagame?
Kagame grew up in Uganda as a refugee following the 1959-1962 revolution, which led to the Tutsi group being driven out of Rwanda by the Hutu.
He was a founding member of current Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s rebel army in 1979, where he headed its intelligence wing, helping Museveni seize power in 1986. Kagame received military training in Uganda, Tanzania, and the US.
Rwanda experienced a civil war from 1990 to 1994 due to deep ethnic divisions between the Hutu and Tutsi.
The climax of the war, the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, killed about 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Kagame is credited with leading the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), the armed wing of the RPF, in stopping the 100-day genocide and fostering unity and peace in the aftermath.
Following the genocide, Rwanda’s economy was destroyed, and society was torn apart when Kagame’s RPF captured power in 1994.
Kagame served as vice president and defence minister before becoming president in 2000.
He has since won subsequent elections, including the 2017 election with over 98% of the vote.
This year, Kagame sought reelection following a 2015 constitutional amendment allowing him to run for three more terms and giving him the green light to pursue a seven-year third term in 2017.
However, the amended constitution shortened presidential term limits to five years starting in 2024.
Kagame, 66, claims it is the ruling party and Rwandans who have asked him to stand for another mandate, noting that he could “comfortably go home and rest” at a personal level.