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One wonders if organizing elections in Rwanda still makes sense, given that the popularity of the all-powerful President Paul Kagame has been overwhelming for 30 years. Apart from his score against non-existent candidates (who still go to extraordinary lengths to catch the eyes and ears of voters), there is no suspense. Unsurprisingly, it is again the strong man of the country who emerges in the partial results of the presidential election held from July 14-16, 2024. The outgoing president of the republic had won the prior election with 98.63% of the votes, and he did even better this year…
99.15% is his score – and it could still go up! – after 78.94% of the ballots were calculated, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) reported yesterday Monday, July 15. Frank Habineza, of the Green Democratic Party of Rwanda and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent candidate, the only ones who were authorities “to confront” the Supreme Guide, obtained 0.53% and 0.32% of the votes respectively.
So Rwanda is heading straight towards a 4th term for Kagame and the overwhelming majority of citizens will not whine as the accomplishments of their leader are satisfactory: Fight against corruption, high-level infrastructure, health and education systems, etc. “The elections which will take place the day after tomorrow, I view them to have already been concluded. That’s why I desire to focus on what’s next, that’s why I want to focus on strengthening our security, that’s why I want to instead talk about our efforts to continue economic growth, that’s why I’m speaking of good governance based on the freedom to choose, and democracy,” confided the president during his meeting in Kigali last Saturday, quoted by RFI.
In 2003, an amendment to the Constitution withdrew the barrier to term limits. Since then, nothing and no one can stop this former rebel leader who put an end to the genocide of his ethnic group, the Toutsi (some 800,000 dead) and imposed national reconciliation. Since this dark page in their history, Rwandans have been forbidden from belonging to an ethnic party, tribe or clan, they are one. It is this enlightened leadership that gives Kagame a prophetic aura…
Neighbours in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) do not share this enthusiasm, tension has been intense between the two countries since June 2022, since the Congolese formally accused Kigali of arming the rebels of the M23 (March 23 Movement) to sow death and desolation in the east of the country. President Kagame, likewise accused of taking control of the wealth of the DRC, denies it outright. The Rwandans who have just voted pay little attention to these considerations, what they are looking at is the progress of their country, its development model, its economic growth, its technological prowess, the appetite of foreign investors, etc.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects growth of 7.5% in 2024 compared to 6.2% in 2023. This is what Rwandan voters voted for last Sunday and will confirm in the legislative elections, organized at the same time as the presidential election. The rest, everything else, the Rwandans willingly leave to their president and it will be like this as long as the saviour of the homeland has the power to lead the destiny of his country, even if it is with an iron fist which he complain the opponents of the regime…
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