People in Rwanda are going to the polls for elections in which Paul Kagame is widely expected to extend his rule of the central African country.
This is the fourth presidential ballot since more than 800,000 people, mostly members of the Tutsi ethnic minority, were killed in a genocide in the country 30 years ago.
Kagame, who led the Rwandan Patriotic Front rebel group to defeat Hutu extremist forces and end the genocide, was elected president by parliament in 2000 after the resignation of Pasteur Bizimungu.
He has won more than 90% of the vote in the three previous elections since then – in 2003, 2010 and 2017.
Running on the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) ticket, Kagame is now seeking a fourth seven-year term, after a constitutional amendment in 2015 extended presidential term limits.
Kagame is credited with transforming Rwanda from ethnic division to being a united country and regional business hub. But critics accuse his administration of censorship and curtailing human rights in the country of 13 million people, more than 9 million of whom are eligible to vote in Monday’s ballot.
In this election, he faces the same opponents as in 2017: Frank Habineza, of the Democratic Green party of Rwanda, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent candidate.
Rwanda’s national electoral commission disqualified six others, including vocal Kagame critics Victoire Ingabire, Diane Rwigara and Bernard Ntaganda, for various reasons.
Kagame’s campaign priorities have included security, stability, unity and economic development.
“We chose to rebuild ourselves and our country, which was destroyed by bad politics and irresponsible leaders,” he said at a rally in the northern Gakenke district on Thursday.
“As for you, you have rebuilt yourselves, you have built your skills, and you have competent leaders at all levels. Therefore, you must do everything possible to ensure that Rwanda continues its path towards sustainable progress.”
Habineza, a former RPF member, is advocating for changes to tax and land policies and for modernisation of agriculture.
Mpayimana, a senior expert in the ministry of national unity and civic engagement and a former journalist, is pushing to downsize parliament, increase agricultural productivity, and improve education and student welfare.
In the last election, Habineza and Mpayimana each got less than 1% of votes.
Analysts say they lacked sufficient name recognition, financial resources and organisational ability to significantly challenge Kagame this time as well.
RPF has been the ruling party since 1994, and its members occupy 75% of the seats in parliament.
David Kiwuwa, an associate professor of international studies at the University of Nottingham, said: “On the whole, Rwanda is a dominant party system, with RPF occupying a supersized political space and as such in the foreseeable future has no challenger.”
Rachel Nicholson, Rwanda researcher at Amnesty International, said the election could be an “opportune time for political leadership to choose to recommit to human rights” and investigate enforced disappearances, killings and other human rights cases to ensure that victims get justice.
“Regardless of whether leadership changes or not, it’s a moment of change,” she said. “It’s a moment that leaders can choose if they want to.”
Rwandans are also voting on Monday for members of the lower house of parliament.
The results of the elections are expected this week.
