Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has been elected for a fourth term, securing a majority victory with 99.15 percent of the votes in the presidential election.
The results were announced by Rwanda’s electoral body, with only about 79 percent of ballots counted so far.
The electoral authorities reported that out of a total population of 14 million, 9.5 million Rwandans had registered to vote in this election.
Kagame’s opponents, Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana, each received less than one percent of the provisional votes.
Kagame, 64, has the potential to remain in office until 2034, following a constitutional amendment in 2015 that abolished the two-term limit.
This landslide victory mirrors the 2017 election results, where Kagame also garnered nearly 99 percent of the votes.
Final results of the election are expected to be announced by July 27, although they may be released earlier.
President Kagame first came to power as the leader of the rebels who ended the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
He served as vice-president and de facto leader from then until 2000, when he officially became president.
Over the years, Kagame has been credited with stabilizing Rwanda and fostering economic growth, though his tenure has also faced criticism over human rights and political freedoms.