Rwanda: Paul Kagame's vote share in presidential elections 2003-2024

Paul Kagame has served as President of Rwanda since 2000, and has been considered the de facto leader of the country since 1994.

Kagame's grip on power

In 1990, Kagame became military leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), whose victory in the Rwandan Civil War (1990-1994) ended the Rwandan Genocide and paved the way for Kagame and the RPF to oversee the country's reconstruction. Since the end of the civil war, Kagame has seen Rwanda become one of Central Africa's most stable and prosperous countries, but has also established it as a one-party, authoritarian state. Kagame's critics have regularly been imprisoned or banned from running in elections, and the RPF has been accused of political repression through its control of the media. In the four presidential elections since Kagame officially took power, he has won with a minimum of 93 percent, although the majority of international observers do not consider these to have been free or fair elections. 98 percent of voters also voted to scrap presidential term limits following a referendum in 2015, which could keep Kagame in power until (at least) 2034, but these results were, again, widely criticized.

Relations with the West

Observers note that Western governments are more tolerant of Kagame's authoritarianism than of many other countries, due to asylum deals made with countries such as Denmark and the UK, or Rwandan exports of precious metals. Critics have also accused the West of ignoring Rwanda's support of militant groups that continue to destabilize neighboring countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo.