Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, William Ruto of Kenya, Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, and Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea Bissau were among the first to send goodwill messages to veteran Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Kagame is embarking on his fourth term after garnering over 99 percent of the votes cast, according to partial results released on Monday by the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
President Ruto expressed his congratulations, saying, “On behalf of the people and Government of Kenya, I have the pleasure to convey warmest congratulations upon your re-election to serve a further term as President of the Republic of Rwanda. We celebrate with you the sovereign choice of the people of Rwanda and wish you success as you continue steering your country in the path of peace, stability, and prosperity. I look forward to continuing working with you in regional and pan-African affairs in strengthening the bonds of solidarity and fraternity between the peoples of Kenya and Rwanda.”
President Samia extended her heartfelt congratulations, stating, “On behalf of the Government and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency Paul Kagame for being re-elected as the President of the Republic of Rwanda. I look forward to working with you in fostering the relations between our two countries and in the pursuit of East Africa’s unity and prosperity.”
President Nyusi congratulated Kagame, the ruling party, and the Rwandan people, “offering our best wishes for success as you assume the new mandate in the position overwhelmingly entrusted to you by the people of Rwanda.”
President Embaló also hailed Kagame’s resounding re-election and wished him “a new mandate strengthened by peace, prosperity, and progress.”
By Tuesday, the NEC had counted 96.6 percent of the votes cast, totaling 8,761,453 out of 9,071,157. The ruling coalition, RPF-Inkotanyi, had secured 62.67 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies, according to NEC chair Oda Gasinzigwa. The tallying of the presidential and parliamentary votes is ongoing, with the NEC expected to announce the provisional results by July 20 and the final results on July 27.
Meanwhile, President Kagame’s two competitors, Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana, have conceded. Kagame assured his supporters that he would hit the ground running, stating, “The elections are now behind us, what is left is developing Rwanda,” at the RPF headquarters in Kigali following the announcement of his resounding victory.
