No fewer than nine million Rwandans are registered to vote in the election to be held concurrently with legislative elections – a first in the country.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Rwandans will go to the poll again on Monday, July 15, 2024, to elect a new president.
The incumbent president, Paul Kagame, is standing for elections once more and he is favoured to win, according to analysts.
No fewer than nine million Rwandans are registered to vote in the election to be held concurrently with legislative elections – a first in the country.
The polls come three decades after the genocide which claimed some 800,000 lives.
Kagame has been Rwanda’s de facto ruler since the end of the 1994 genocide which claimed some 800,000 lives.
Elected by parliament in 2000, after the resignation of former president Pasteur Bizimungu, Kagame has won three elections with more than 90 per cent of the ballot in 2003, 2010 and 2017, taking home nearly 99 per cent of votes in the most recent poll.
The 66-year-old politician presided over controversial constitutional amendments allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.
These shortened presidential terms from seven to five years and reset the clock for Kagame, allowing him to rule in a transitional capacity from 2017 to 2024 and then for two five-year terms until 2034.
The legislative elections will feature more than 500 candidates, with voters electing 53 out of 80 lawmakers.
The 27 remaining seats in the parliament are reserved for independent candidates, including 24 women, two young representatives and one disabled person.
Currently, Kagame’s party and its allies hold 49 of the 53 seats in the lower house.
Speaking at a rally attended by thousands of supporters, Kagame defended Rwanda’s record on democracy in an apparent swipe at allegations of stifling opposition.
“People usually disagree on democracy or understand it differently. But for us, we have our own understanding of it. Democracy means choice, choosing what is good for you and what you want,” he told a cheering crowd in the northern town of Musanze.
“Nothing is better than being Rwandan, but even better, nothing is better than being your leader… I came here to thank you, not to ask for your votes.”
