Rwanda election: Partial results show Paul Kagame wins with 99% of votes

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is expected to extend his 24-year rule for another five years in a landslide victory with most of the votes counted in Monday’s election.

According to partial results released by the electoral commission, he has received 99.15% of the vote so far, with around 79% of the votes counted.

The 66-year-old president once again faced no significant challenger this time around, as key figures were suspended, and his two rivals received less than 1% of the vote.

Speaking at the headquarters of his Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) party, President Kagame expressed his gratitude to the Rwandan people for the trust they have placed in him.

“It’s not just a number, even if it was 100 percent, it’s not just a number. [They] “Show trust, that’s the most important thing,” Kagame said.

His opponents, environmental activist Frank Habineza and former journalist and government adviser Philippe Mpaimana, have support of 0.53% and 0.32% respectively.

Full provisional results are expected by July 20th, and final results by July 27th.

The results are not surprising.

These mirror the results of the 2017 elections in which the same candidates competed, with Kagame winning with 98.8% of the vote.

According to the Election Commission, 98 percent of the more than 9.5 million voters participated in the election.

They voted for the president and 53 senators.

Elections for 27 reserved seats for women, youth and people with disabilities will be held on Tuesday.

Kagame has been Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the genocide in 1994 and has served as president since 2000.

Rights groups have accused him of restricting freedoms since taking office, but supporters say he has led economic growth and helped end ethnic divisions.