Sawt Falasteen - Rwanda's Kagame re-elected with 99.18 percent of vote

A crushing victory in Monday's vote was never in doubt for the all-powerful Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation as de facto leader 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 bigger margin than in the last presidential ballot seven years ago, when he secured 98.79 percent.

Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza garnered just 0.5 percent and independent Philippe Mpayimana 0.32 percent, according to the National Electoral Commission.

The 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, and of fomenting instability in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Several regional leaders have already congratulated Kagame on his fourth term, but rights campaigners reacted with dismay.

"Kagame's unprecedented score of over 99 percent in the election should be seen as a reflection of just how limited political space for the opposition is in Rwanda today," said Clementine de Montjoye, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The outcome "does not bode well for anyone seeking to engage in legitimate and credible opposition activities," she added.

- Victory 'without glory' -

Kagame has won every presidential election he has contested with more than 93 percent of the ballot.

In 2015, he 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 people -- including two million first-time voters -- were registered, with the presidential race being held simultaneously as legislative elections for the first time.

Definitive results are due to be released by July 27.

But leading anti-Kagame critics were absent from the line-up.

Rwandan courts had rejected appeals from prominent opposition figures Bernard Ntaganda and Victoire Ingabire to remove previous convictions that effectively disqualified them from running.

The election commission also barred high-profile critic Diane Rwigara, citing issues with her paperwork -- the second time she was excluded.

Ntaganda denounced the result as "without glory or political and popular triumph" following an election marred by the "complete absence of any legitimate and independent opposition".

- Parliamentary dominance -

Kagame's ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) also reinforced its dominance of parliament, winning 68.83 percent of the vote in the legislative elections while two allies garnered more than 17 percent between them.

A breakdown of the seat distribution in the new parliament was not immediately available.

In the outgoing assembly, the RPF held 40 of the 53 seats elected by universal suffrage, and its allies 11, while Habineza's party had two.

Another 27 spots are reserved for women, the youth and people with disabilities.

The imbalance between the candidates was evident during the three-week campaign, as the well-oiled PR machine of Kagame's RPF swung into high gear.

His rivals struggled to make their voices heard, with barely 100 people showing up to some events.

- Meddling accusations -

Kagame's RPF militia captured Kigali in July 1994, ousting the Hutu extremists who had unleashed 100 days of bloodletting targeting the Tutsi minority.

The genocide perpetrators killed around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.

Since then, Kagame has driven a remarkable recovery, with GDP growing by an average of 7.2 percent per year between 2012 and 2022, though the World Bank says almost half the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.

Abroad, Kigali is accused of meddling in the troubled eastern DRC, where a UN report says its troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels.

Kagame has not explicitly denied the presence of Rwandan forces in DRC, but has made no bones about his willingness to take a "defensive" position to protect Kigali's interests.

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST