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As vote counting continues in Rwanda’s presidential election, incumbent Paul Kagame appears set for a resounding win. With over 7 million votes tallied, Kagame has secured an astounding 99.15 per cent of the vote, leaving his opponents far behind.
The National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Monday, July 15, reported a massive 98 per cent voter turnout, underscoring the election’s significance to Rwandans.
Kagame’s closest rival, Frank Habineza of Democratic Green Party, has managed only 0.53 per cent of the vote, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana trails with 0.32 per cent.
While final results are not due until July 27, the current numbers suggest Kagame’s victory is all but assured. This landslide, if confirmed, would grant Kagame a third five-year term and cement his position as Rwanda’s dominant political figure.
Kagame is leading the RPF-Inkotanyi coalition.
NEC Chairperson, Oda Gasinzigwa, said the electoral process happened in a safe and transparent atmosphere for both Rwandans living abroad and those at home.
“As of now, the votes that have been tallied in the elections of the president of the Republic are 78.94 per cent and these are the partial results,” she said while announcing the partial results.
NEC is set to announce provisional results not later than July 20 and final results not later than July 27.
Here’s how presidential candidates performed in partial results.
Breakdown of votes
At the national level, out of the tallied votes on Monday, Kagame garnered 7,099,810.
Habineza got 38,301 votes and Mpayimana got 22,753 votes.
Northern Province
As of Monday, 1,151,970 votes were tallied in the Northern Province, out of the 1,480,558 registered voters.
Kagame got 99,65 per cent of the votes in Northern Province. Habineza got 0.27 per cent, while Mpayimana got 0.08 per cent of the votes.
Eastern Province
In Eastern Province, 1,766,799 votes were tallied, out of 2,246,371 registered voters.
Kagame garnered 99.3 per cent of the votes in the province. Habineza came second with 0.66 per cent and Mpayimana got 0.05 per cent.
Western Province
In Western Province, 1,607,932 votes were tallied on Monday out of 2,038,931 registered voters.
Kagame got 99.6 per cent of the votes. Mpayimana got 0.29 per cent while Habineza got 0.11 per cent.
Southern Province
In Southern Province, 1,615,265 votes were tallied on Monday, out of 2,055,930 registered voters.
Kagame garnered 98.6 per cent of the votes. Habineza got 0.73 per cent, while Mpayimana got 0.67 per cent.
City of Kigali
In the City of Kigali, Kagame got 98.59 per cent of the 978,223 votes tallied on Monday, out of 1,172,229 registered voters.
Habineza got 0.96 per cent while Mpayimana got 0.44 per cent.
Diaspora
In the votes cast by Rwandans in the diaspora, Kagame got 95.4 per cent of 40,675 votes tallied on Monday. More than 70,000 Rwandans in diaspora registered to vote.
Mpayimana and Habineza got 2.45 per cent and 2.15 per cent of the diaspora votes, respectively.
An election volunteer on duty during vote counting at Remera Catholique polling station in Gasabo on July 15. Photo by Emmanuel Dushimimana
