Millions of Rwandans headed to the polls on Monday with President Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s de-facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and president since 2000, expected to secure an easy victory due to “severe restrictions” on opposition figures and enduring popular support. Parliamentary elections are also taking place, with more than 500 candidates vying for 80 seats. 

Polling stations opened across Rwanda for presidential and parliamentary elections, AFP journalists saw, with the African nation’s leader Paul Kagame set to cruise to victory and extend his iron-fisted rule for another five years.

Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and president since 2000, Kagame faces only two challengers after several prominent critics were barred from standing.

The lineup is a carbon copy of the last election in 2017, when Kagame obliterated his rivals with almost 99 percent of the vote, and there is little doubt about the outcome this year.

Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party, and independent Philippe Mpayimana were the only two candidates approved to run against Kagame out of eight applicants.

With 65 percent of the country’s population aged under 30, Kagame — who is running for a fourth term — is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.

The 66-year-old is credited with rebuilding a traumatised nation after the genocide unleashed by Hutu extremists that killed around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi but also Hutu moderates.

But his regime is widely criticised by rights groups as autocratic, stifling the media and political opposition with arbitrary detentions, killings and enforced disappearances.

Abroad, it faces accusations of stoking instability in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where a UN report says Rwandan troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels in the troubled east.

More than nine million Rwandans are registered to cast their ballot across 2,433 polling stations Monday, with the presidential race being held at the same time as legislative elections for the first time.

Polls opened around 7:00 am (0500 GMT) and counting will begin as soon as they close at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), with partial results expected to be released as tallying progresses.

Source: AFP