Paul Kagame Set To Rule Rwanda For 30 Years After Election Win

President Paul Kagame is set to extend his 24-year rule in Rwanda to 30 years after winning a fourth term in the Rwandan election conducted on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Provisional election results announced on Monday showed that Kagame beat opponents Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and Philippe Mpayimana, who is an independent candidate.

Habineza and Mpayimana both got under 1% of the 79% results announced so far. In 2017, Kagame won nearly 99% of votes, and it is not surprising that the margin is wide again.

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Reacting to the outcome of the election, Kagame said it reflected the trust he has built over the years with the Rwandan people.

“This election process, the campaign we conducted first, the voting, and the results that have just been released mean something significant in a person’s life; it symbolises trust, for which I thank you,” President Kagame said.

“Trust is not easy to come by; there is nothing you can give someone to gain their immediate trust. Trust is built over time.

“With this trust and all these years we have spent together solving many difficult challenges, was there ever a time when you saw me at a loss for solutions?

“I am never defeated by challenges. Even in the difficult situations we have gone through or will go through in the future, trust is the reason for it all.

“Trust makes me confident that together, there is no challenge we will not surmount.”

Kagame became president of the country in the year 2000, six years after leading rebel forces to end the genocide of 1994.

He served as vice president from 1994 to 2000 when he assumed power as president and has since carried out reforms that have seen the country bounce back from the genocide.

The final results of the election are expected to be announced on July 27, 2024.