Rwanda’s electoral commission on Wednesday confirmed President Paul Kagame’s overwhelming victory in last week’s presidential election, even improving his score slightly to 98.79 percent. There had been little doubt that the 59-year-old would return to the helm of the east African nation, which he has ruled with an iron fist since the end of the 1994 genocide. Preliminary results showed he had won 98.63 percent of the votes, handing him a third term in office.
The final results showed opposition leader Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party scored 0.48 percent and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana 0.73 percent. Both candidates conceded defeat this week after preliminary results were released.
However, Habineza stated that “some local authorities were not cooperative and there were hindrances to our election observers and party agents.” After the election, the United States said it was “disturbed by irregularities” observed during voting as well as a lack of transparency in determining the eligibility of prospective candidates.
Full Article: Rwanda poll commission confirms Kagame’s nearly 99% win.
