Paul Kagame looks set to extend his long Rwandan presidency in elections on Monday

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwandans will vote Monday in an election that will almost certainly extend the long rule of President Paul Kagame, who has been in power virtually unopposed for the next three decades. Japanese African people.

Kagame has been greeted by crowds of adoring supporters at marketing campaign rallies, highlighting the apparent inevitability of his victory. he wants a fourth term As President. His rivals – Frank Habinza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philip Mapeimana – have struggled to draw crowds to their party.

Kagame faced similar fighters in 2017, when he only took about 99% Of vote. Witnesses say a similar outcome is expected in a country where serious opposition to Kagame has long been absent.

Kagame, 66, took power as leader of rebels who took control of Rwanda’s government and massacre in 1994, Kagame was Rwanda’s vice president and de facto head of state from 1994 to 2000, when he was first president. He has since come to dominate the East African nation as an authoritarian who is not open to political dissent.

Rwanda’s elections are being held amid growing fears of a lack of trust in Africa’s Superior Lakes region. A violent group of rebels called M23 is fighting the Congolese army in a remote area of ​​Japanese Congo. Between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan forces UN professionals noted in a document circulated on Wednesday that they are fighting alongside the M23. The US executive described the gang as receiving subsidies through Rwanda. Rwanda has accused the Congolese army of recruiting dissidents who were some of the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.

Similar rallies were taken out on Saturday also. Monday’s vote is expected to extend Kagame’s rule to five years. According to the electoral government, a total of 9.5 million Rwandans are registered to vote.

Rights groups continue to raise concerns about harsh restrictions on human rights, including the Union’s self-governance. Amnesty World expressed concern in a recent commentary on “threats, arbitrary detentions, prosecutions on trumped-up charges, killings and enforced disappearances” aimed at political opposition in Rwanda.

That comment noted the repression of dissenting voices, including civic groups and clicks, “has a chilling effect and limits the scope for debate for the people of Rwanda.”

According to Amnesty World, at least two members of the opposition FDU-Inkingi party have disappeared since the 2017 election, along with other clandestine deaths and killings.

FDU-Ingabire is the previous party of opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, who is banned from functioning due to a prior criminal conviction. Earlier a Rwandan court had rejected his petition for prison rehabilitation, which could have allowed him to run for president. The president’s other critics, including Diane Rwigara of the Nation Salvation Motion, had his candidacy barred for allegedly failing to present evidence of substantial amounts of aid.

Both Ingabire and Rwigara blamed Kagame for blocking their bid for the presidency.

Human Rights Guard has raised similar concerns about rights violations, in a final comment urging the government to ensure that all Rwandans are allowed to express their views and vote freely.

Kagame has long been optimistic about his outlook for Rwanda, which has recorded remarkable economic growth in the three decades since the genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus were massacred by extremist Hutus backed by the military.

Rwanda’s political system under Kagame is largely based on government obedience, with little room for petty corruption, legal incompetence and a solid transition. Forming groups on ethnic basis is prohibited.

Under those circumstances, critics say, stopping Kagame is unthinkable. Accusations of authoritarianism have been at the center of recently ended protests Deportation scheme through the United Kingdom government Asylum seekers are not welcome in Rwanda.

Kagame, addressing a recent campaign rally, defended the need for the election amid complaints that voting was a waste of attendance when the outcome was so clear.

He said, “Democracy means choosing what is good for you, what you want and the fact that you are free to make your choice.”

Kagame’s supporters say his government has reduced poverty and provided better medical health insurance coverage for Rwandans, usually citing his transformation of the capital Kigali from an empty city with perfect roads and perfect infrastructure.

Many Rwandans also see Kagame’s strong presidency as reassuring.

Eric Ndushabandi, a political science teacher at the College of Rwanda, said that while Kagame is critical, “Rwandans believe that while Kagame is still in charge, the poor political conditions of the past that led to the genocide cannot happen again.”

“For many people, Kagame is the guarantor that things like this will never happen again,” he said.

The ruling party has sent supporters from across Rwanda to wait for Kagame’s rallies. A catastrophic stampede A similar rally took place in June when some attendees attempted to look like the president as he walked out.

“Every country has the best leader of its choice. For now, this is all Kagame needs from Rwandans,” said Johnson Bugirinfura, a farmer in the western district of Musanze, where Kagame held his first campaign rally.

A critic of the president from the rural district of Gikumbi in Rwanda’s north — a man who would only give his name unmarked to avoid retribution — told The Associated Press that he wants to see a change in the upcoming presidency while first supporting Kagame. Election. He said that there is still no electricity in his house and due to running the Aqua Party, his children had to leave school due to non-payment of school fees.

Asked if he would vote in return, he laughed and said, “We don’t say that here.”

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Muhumuza contributed from Kampala, Uganda.