Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, feared and admired in equal measure, is seeking to extend his 24-year rule in an election analysts say he will win by a landslide.
He has dominated every election since becoming President in 2000, with over 90 percent of the vote. In 2017 he won with a staggering 99 percent in an election criticised by human rights groups.
Kagame, 66, is accused of not allowing any real opposition and ruthlessly targeting his critics, even outside the country.
He faces the only two contenders who were authorised to run – other candidates were barred by the state-run electoral commission.
Kagame cast his vote without speaking to reporters.
He has been the real force in Rwanda since his rebel forces took power at the end of the 1994 genocide which killed some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Since then, he has been praised for overseeing the country’s dramatic economic revival and unifying the country.
“Rwanda was 30 years ago essentially written off – but thanks to some extent to the leadership under Kagame and his ruling party, Rwanda managed to build some stability,” Dr Felix Ndahinda, a scholar on the Great Lakes region, told the BBC.
Kagame has always fiercely defended Rwanda’s record on human rights, saying his country respects political freedoms.
But one analyst told the BBC the election was a mere “formality”.
About nine million people are registered to vote, according to the electoral body, and at least two million are first-time voters.
Counting has already begun at polling stations and provisional results might be announced by Tuesday morning.
Voters are electing the President and 53 members of the lower House of Parliament on Monday, while 27 other MPs will be chosen on Tuesday.
“I am very excited about voting for my first time, I can’t wait,” Sylvia Mutoni told the BBC.
For most young people in Rwanda, Kagame is the only leader they have ever known.
Even while vice-President and defence minister from 1994 to 2000 he was the country’s real leader, and has been President since 2000.
Rwanda’s 99 percent man who wants to extend his three decades in power
The two opposition candidates – Frank Habineza, of the Democratic Green Party and independent Philippe Mpayimana – both ran in the 2017 election, where they took just over 1 percent of the vote between them.
But they are undeterred.
Office of the President of Rwanda An image of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame voting during the country’s election on 15 July 2024Office of the President of Rwanda
Paul Kagame has won previous elections with over 90 percent of the vote
Habineza cast his vote in the capital, Kigali, on Monday morning and said he hoped his party can get 20 MPs – 10 times the number of seats his party secured in 2017.
Before the election, he told the BBC Focus on Africa podcast: “I believe democracy is a process.
“People still have a fear of expressing their opinions. I’m fighting for freedom of speech, freedom of the media,” he said.
And some Rwandans are listening to him. One voter told the BBC he would not be voting for the incumbent President.
Celestin Mutuyeyezu, 28, used to support Kagame, but this election has been swayed by Habineza.
“He said great things on fighting unemployment, and he’s got me,” he said.
But defeating President Kagame may prove difficult.
Diane Rwigara, an outspoken critic of the President, was barred from running in the election. She was also disqualified in 2017.
“Rwanda is portrayed as a country where the economy has been growing. But on the ground, it’s different. People do lack the basics of life, food, water, shelter,” she told the BBC.
The electoral commission said she had failed to provide correct documentation.
An image of opposition candidate Frank Habineza voting in Rwanda’s capital city Kigali on 15 July
Frank Habineza told reporters he hopes his party secures 20 seats in parliament
