Kagame Sweeps Re-Election as Ruling Party Chairman in Rwanda Again

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has been overwhelmingly re-elected as the chairman of the ruling party, Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), at the party’s 16th congress, which took place on Sunday. Kagame, who has been the president of Rwanda for 22 years, will now lead the political party he has been heading since 1998 for another five years.

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According to a Rwandan national daily, Kagame won 2,999 votes, accounting for 99.8% of the total votes, while his closest contender, Abdulkarim Harelimana, got only 3 votes, or 0.2%. This outcome delighted the party’s supporters.

“I’m very satisfied with the elections, how it went, the results. Especially the re-election of the President of the Republic and President of the RPF, Paul Kagame, who was re-elected by a very large majority of 99.8 percent,” said Olivier Mugabonake, a member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front.

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Alice Urusaro Karekezi, another member of the party, even expressed her desire for Kagame to run for the presidency again. “It’s true that it’s the work of all Rwandans who have accompanied him in this. But it’s true that the particular character of his leadership has a lot to do with this success. As far as I am concerned, if he runs for a re-election (to the presidency, ed), yes without hesitation,” she said after the announcement of the result.

The congress, which marked the 35th anniversary of the ruling party since the end of the genocide, was attended by 2,000 supporters in Kigali who voted on Sunday. Kagame’s victory cements his position as a strong and popular leader in Rwanda.