According to Monday's partial results, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has clinched a decisive election victory, extending his authoritarian rule for another five years.
Kagame, who has been the de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and officially president since 2000, secured 99.15% of the vote, according to the National Election Commission, with 79% of ballots counted.
This surpasses the 98.79% he achieved in the 2017 election, leaving his two authorized opponents far behind.
Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party garnered just 0.53% of the vote, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana received 0.32%.
The outcome was widely anticipated, given accusations against Kagame's regime of suppressing the media and political opposition and barring several prominent critics from the race.
Following the announcement of the partial results, Kagame expressed his gratitude to Rwandans in a speech from the headquarters of his ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), marking the beginning of his fourth term.
"The results that have been presented indicate a very high score, these are not just figures, even if it was 100%, these are not just numbers," he said.
"These figures show the trust, and that is what is most important," he added. "I am hopeful that together we can solve all problems."
Full provisional results are due by July 20, and definitive results by July 27.
With 65% of the population aged under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.
The 66-year-old is credited with rebuilding a traumatized nation after the genocide, but he is also accused of ruling in a climate of fear at home and fomenting instability in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Over 9 million Rwandans – about 2 million first-time voters – were registered to cast their ballot, with the presidential race being held at the same time as legislative elections for the first time.
"(Kagame) gives us everything we ask him, such as health insurance. This is why he wins by a big margin," said 34-year-old mechanic Francois Rwabakina.
Kagame won with more than 93% of the vote in 2003, 2010, and in 2017 when he again easily defeated the same two challengers.
He has overseen controversial constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms from seven to five years and reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.
Rwandan courts had rejected appeals from prominent opposition figures Bernard Ntaganda and Victoire Ingabire to remove previous convictions that effectively disqualified them from Monday's vote.
The election commission also barred high-profile Kagame critic Diane Rwigara, citing issues with her paperwork – the second time she was excluded from running.
The imbalance between the candidates was evident during the three-week campaign, as the well-oiled PR machine of the ruling RPF swung into high gear.
The party's red, white, and blue colors and its slogans "Tora Kagame Paul" ("Vote Paul Kagame") and "PK24" ("Paul Kagame 2024") were everywhere.
His rivals struggled to make their voices heard, with barely 100 people showing up to some events.
Despite the lackluster turnout at his rallies, Habineza hailed the "free and fair atmosphere."
"This is a very good show of the level of growth in democracy in our country. We have been able to campaign (across) the whole country," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Kagame's RPF militia is lauded for ending the 1994 genocide when it marched on Kigali – ousting the Hutu extremists who had unleashed 100 days of bloodletting targeting the Tutsi minority.
The perpetrators killed around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.
Kagame has overseen a remarkable economic recovery, with gross domestic product (GDP) growing by an average of 7.2% per year between 2012 and 2022, although the World Bank says almost half the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.
Ahead of the vote, Amnesty International said Rwanda's political opposition faced "severe restrictions ... as well as threats, arbitrary detention, prosecution, trumped-up charges, killings and enforced disappearances."
Abroad, Kigali is accused of meddling in the troubled eastern DRC, where a U.N. report says its troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels.
Kigali was also accused of killing tens of thousands of Hutus in the DRC during its pursuit of fleeing genocide perpetrators.
Discussion of these alleged massacres remains taboo and is considered genocide "revisionism" in Rwanda.
In the parliamentary election, 589 candidates were chasing 80 seats, including 53 elected by universal suffrage. In the outgoing assembly, the RPF held 40 seats and its allies 11, while Habineza's party had two.
Another 27 spots are reserved for women, the youth, and people with disabilities.
