Projected results from the election commission after polls closed in Rwanda put incumbent Paul Kagame on 99.15%. Turnout was said to be 98%. Only two opposition candidates with no real profile were allowed to run.
More than 9 million Rwandans were called to vote for a new president on Monday, and according to official results, more than 99% of them supported the incumbent Paul Kagame for a fourth term.
Soon after polls closed on Monday evening, the election commission said that Kagame had won 99.15% of the votes.
It also put turnout at a staggeringly high 98%. By comparison, even in those few countries where citizens are legally obliged to vote or face a fine, such as Australia, turnout only ever tends to be between 90 and 95%.
In so many ways, Kagame is one of the rare “benevolent dictators” but one of the reasons that concept is often used sarcastically is because no matter how benevolent, any autocratic leader makes it nearly impossible to build up civil society and institutions — including opposition parties — that need to be in place for who (or, potentially, what chaos) follows.
If you told the world that Rwanda would be stable, safe, and relatively prosperous after arguably the most brutal modern genocide, everyone would have taken that deal. Maybe this is the only way it would have happened. But autocratic leaders have a tendency to stay on too long at the expense of long term stability.
It works for Victor von Doom.
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So you’re a dictator.
Even with 2 alternatives who had no high profile it would have been impossible
Its impossible that 99.something% of the people come out to vote
Its impossible that 99.something% of the people vote for the same guy. Even just error rates from people accidently filling out the wrong checkbox would have been higher than that.
Hell, even Putin doesn’t make it THIS obvious that he stole the elections
Putin once got 140% so no he does
That’s nothing, Trump’s going to get 99.5% of the vote on 98.3% turn out in 2028.
How dare you address the Supreme Beloved Sublime Leader so disrespectfully? Off to the gulag with you!
Naaahhhh nothing to see there.
A turnout that high is not possible to get even if you sent the army knocking on each door “vote or get your family slaughtered”
They only have to threaten, now.
It’s really shocking that I can’t seem to find a single article discussing election fraud or coercion. Common sense dictates that in a free election, these numbers are… unprecedented to say the least. Isn’t anyone reporting on this?
Maybe it’s simply so obvious that it’s not worth discussing in depth.
Those percentages feel like they’re intentionally completely over the top. There has to be a message there.
Shouda gone with 99.69
It surprises me that he hadn’t won by 300%…
Must love him down there.
After reading Romeo d’Allaire’s book, I strongly suspect his hands are so bloody it’s now a tattoo.
Oof that was a close one.
The remaining 0.85 have nowhere to go but down.
I love that it says “early results” as a hedge on certainty.
