Victoire Ingabire, an opponent of Kagame in Rwanda, questions the validity of his victory

Victoire Ingabire, the leader of the Rwandan opposition, has rejected the validity of President Paul Kagame’s resounding electoral victory, saying that “no candidate can really challenge Kagame.”

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) released preliminary results on Monday night, showing that the veteran leader received 7,099,810, or 99.15 percent, of the 7,160,864 votes counted.

The Democratic Green Party’s Frank Habineza garnered 38,301 votes, or 0.53% of the total, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana received 22,753 votes, or 0.32%.

The former prisoner Ms. Ingabire was not given a ticket to run in the just finished election.

She claimed that the election was unfair and unfree and asked the President to allow Rwandans to have a voice in their government.

“The legitimacy of democracy in our country is diminished by an election in which there isn’t a single candidate who can truly challenge President Kagame,” stated Ms. Ingabire. “Due to the limited number of participants in the elections, Rwandans are unable to choose the leader they wish to follow.”

The Rwandan High Court denied Ingabire’s rehabilitation request in March 2024, prohibiting her from “recovering her civic rights,” which include the freedom to leave the nation and take part in all elections held there.

She then challenged the ruling in the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).

She asked for temporary measures to stop the “irreparable harm that would be caused from precluding her from registering as a presidential candidate” in her application.

The regional court is currently hearing the matter.

In response to the President’s resounding win on Tuesday, Ms. Ingabire stated that it would not have occurred on an equal playing field.

“There was no competition, as demonstrated by President Kagame’s victory with over 99 percent of the vote,” she remarked.

A fierce opponent of the Kagame government, Ingabire departed Rwanda for the Netherlands in March 1994. In order to run in the later that year’s presidential election, she went to Rwanda in January 2010 after establishing a political party there in 2006.

She was detained, put on trial, and given a 15-year prison term for encouraging discord and plotting against the government.

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights heard her appeal and determined in 2017 that Rwanda had infringed her rights to free speech and legal representation.

In September 2018, she was freed on a presidential pardon after spending eight years in prison, five of those years in solitary confinement.

She hopes to be allowed to leave the country after requesting to be allowed to see her sick husband in the Netherlands in her April 30, 2024, EACJ application.

“Please let Kagame allow me to visit my family now that the elections, in which I was not allowed to participate, are over,” she pleaded.

As President Kagame easily won a fourth term, his two rivals admitted defeat.

The President hailed the other parties in coalition with the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), seven of which approved his campaign and reelection, and told his supporters, “You voted well!” at the RPF headquarters in Rusororo, Kigali, shortly after the announcement of the intermediate results.

He continued by thanking his family, referring to them as “my walking stick,” saying, “I can’t thank you enough, everyone who voted for me, and the entire country, the artists and youth who were with me throughout.” I appreciate your continuous faith in me, which has shown itself throughout the campaigns and the current election outcomes.

“It’s not just numbers, what matters is your trust in me,” the President stated, referring to the poll findings in which he is ahead by a significant margin.

This is not like the ordinary. This is the distinctiveness of RPF and Rwandans, and the reason why many find it difficult to comprehend or believe us when we present our results.

He promised to get started right away on advancing the RPF development program.

“Now that the elections are over, Rwanda’s development is all that remains.”

Election observers reported that polling went quite smoothly, and Kagame’s victory was generally anticipated.

Voters nationwide turned out in large numbers on Monday to cast their ballots for the president and members of parliament, with some dressed in traditional wedding costume.

While some polling places were decked out like wedding locations, others went above and beyond by arranging traditional wedding elements like gourds and calabashes to represent a traditional wedding ceremony.

At Rugangazi in the Nyanza district, the earliest polling station visitation on election day was recorded at 4 am.

There were lines everywhere by 7 am, and by noon, most people had cast their votes.

Voters in several areas of Kigali, like Musanze and Muhima, were given free coffee, tea, and pastries.

Over 100,000 “volunteers” were sent out by the NEC to polling places around the nation to assist the elderly and those with impairments in casting their ballots.

Unlike in the past, the NEC let voters to cast their ballots at any polling place, not just the one where they were registered.

The counting process started as soon as the voting completed at 3 p.m.

Each polling place’s results will be combined at the district level before being sent to the national tallying center.

Voter tallying will continue until July 20, when preliminary results for the presidential and legislative elections will be revealed, according to NEC Chairperson Oda Gasinzigwa. On July 27, the final results will be announced.