Millions of Rwandans were voting in presidential and parliamentary elections on July 15, with the African nation’s leader Paul Kagame widely expected to cruise to victory and extend his iron-fisted rule for another five years.
Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and President since 2000, Mr. Kagame faces only two challengers after several prominent critics were barred from standing.
University student Gatangaza Bwiza Nelly, among two million first-time voters, said she had “been waiting for this day anxiously.” “I believe that the results will be the same as the results in the previous election. It is quite obvious,” the 21-year-old said.
The lineup is a carbon copy of the last election in 2017, when Mr. Kagame obliterated his rivals with almost 99% of the vote, and there is little doubt about the outcome this year.
Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party, and independent Philippe Mpayimana were the only two candidates approved to run against Mr. Kagame out of eight applicants.
With 65% of the population aged under 30, Mr. Kagame — who is running for a fourth term — is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known. The 66-year-old is credited with rebuilding a traumatised nation after Hutu extremists unleashed a genocide targeting Tutsis.
More than nine million Rwandans are registered to cast their ballot across 2,433 polling stations, with the presidential race being held at the same time as legislative elections for the first time.
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