Polls have closed and the counting of votes has begun in Rwanda’s presidential and parliamentary elections, with the African nation’s leader Paul Kagame expected to win, as he bids to extend his iron-fisted rule for another five years.
Polling stations opened at about 7am local time (05:00GMT)
and closed at 3pm local time (13:00 GMT) on Monday across the East African
country, where more than nine million people are registered to participate,
reported the AFP news agency.
Kagame, who has been Rwanda’s de facto leader for three
decades, is almost certain to retain the presidency, facing only two
challengers after Rwandan courts banned his most prominent critics.
The outlook mirrors that of the last election in 2017, when
Kagame dominated his rivals with close to 99 percent of the vote.
At the Rwandexco polling centre in the capital Kigali,
Barimukije Pheneas said he would vote for the 66-year-old incumbent.
“We voted smoothly without any crowding, and we are happy,”
Pheneas told Reuters.
“I voted for Paul Kagame because he has achieved a lot for
us; he united us.”
Motorcycle taxi driver Karangwa Vedaste told Reuters the
voting process was calm and peaceful, but declined to say who he had chosen.
“I voted for a leader I trust. The one I voted for is a
secret in my heart. We will share it when he wins,” Vedaste said.
Frank Habineza, leader of Rwanda’s Democratic Green Party,
and independent Philippe Mpayimana were the only two candidates approved to run
against Kagame out of eight applicants.
Dodo 
