PROVISIONAL RESULTS: Rwanda’s Kagame wins by 99.18%

KIGALI, Rwanda | Xinhua | KIGALI, July 18 (Xinhua) — Rwanda’s incumbent President Paul Kagame of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) has been reelected with 99.18 percent of the votes cast in the presidential elections held Monday, according to provisional results announced Thursday by National Electoral Commission (NEC) Chairperson Oda Gasinzigwa.

Provisional results show that Kagame won 99.18 percent of the votes. More than 8.9 million voters cast their ballots in the country.

Kagame, who has been seeking a fourth term, was followed by Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda garnering 0.50 percent of the votes. Independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana came last with 0.32 percent.

The RPF and its coalition allies secured 68.83 percent of votes in the July 15 parliamentary elections, according to Gasinzigwa.

Other political parties’ results were as follows: the Liberal Party (PL), 8.66 percent; the Social Democratic Party (PSD), 8.62 percent; the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, 4.56 percent; the Ideal Democratic Party (PDI), 4.61 percent; and PS-Imberakuri, 4.51 percent.

Janvier Nsengimana, the only candidate who ran as an independent in the parliamentary elections, got 0.21 percent of the votes, falling short of the minimum 5 percent required to get a seat in the Chamber of Deputies.

In a joint statement read during a press conference in the Rwandan capital of Kigali Wednesday, election observers representing organizations such as the East African Community, the African Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Economic Community of Central African States commended Rwanda for maintaining a “peaceful electoral environment” and meticulous management during the recently concluded general elections.

More than 100,000 Rwandans volunteered as polling staff, and over 1,100 local and foreign observers were accredited for the elections, according to the NEC. ■