2010 Rwandan Presidential Election
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Presidential elections were held in
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
on 2010, the second since the
Rwandan Civil War The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...
. Incumbent President
Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...
of the
Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, winn ...
(RPF) was re-elected for a second seven-year term with 93% of the vote.


Background

Paul Kagame, leader of the RPF, had been President since 2000 and de facto leader since 1994, following his forces' victory over the interim government at the end of the Rwandan Genocide. A new constitution was approved by a referendum in 2003, mandating a seven-year presidential term of office.
Presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...
were held shortly after the referendum and the promulgation of the constitution, which were won by Kagame. Having served one term, Kagame was entitled to serve for one further term and sought re-election in 2010. During Kagame's first term, Rwanda experienced high growth rates and a rise in infrastructure and international investment and tourism. However, he was criticised by some opposition figures and human rights groups for suppressing dissent in the period leading up to the elections.


Candidates

The election campaign began publicly in January 2010 when
Victoire Ingabire Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza (born 3 October 1968) is a Rwandan politician and chairperson of a new political party - Development And Liberty For All (DALFA-Umurinzi) with the focus to campaign for more political space and for development. Previous ...
, a
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...
who had been living abroad for some years, returned to Rwanda and announced her candidacy. Ingabire caused some controversy following her arrival with comments relating to the genocide. The government accused her of breaking the country's strict laws regarding
genocide denial Genocide denial is the attempt to deny or minimize the scale and severity of an instance of genocide. Denial is an integral part of genocide and includes secret planning of genocide, propaganda while the genocide is going on, and destruction of ...
, resulting in her arrest in April 2010. She was released on bail, but was prohibited from running in the elections. She was later sentenced to 15 years in prison. In May, Kagame was officially endorsed as the RPF's candidate at the party's national congress. Kagame then became the first candidate to be accepted when he presented his electoral papers in July. The next candidate to register was Vice-President of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and former Minister of Health Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo, who won the nomination for the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
on . In June, the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
named its candidate, with Vice-President of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and former Minister of Commerce
Prosper Higiro Prosper Higiro (born 28 January 1961) is a Rwandan politician and member of the Liberal Party as its official chairperson. Since 10 October 2004, Prosper has been a Senator and Vice-President of the Senate representing the Kirehe District Kireh ...
defeating Stephanie Mukantagara for the nomination after the latter pulled out of the race at the last minute. The final candidate to successfully register was Senator
Alvera Mukabaramba Alvera Mukabaramba, is a pediatrician and politician in Rwanda, who has been the Minister of State for Local Government Responsible for Social Affairs in the Cabinet of Rwanda, since 10 October 2011. Background and education She was born in R ...
of the
Party for Progress and Concord The Party for Progress and Concord (, PPC) is a political party in Rwanda. The party's motto is: 'Development; Concord; Rwanda's Welfare'. History The party was established in 2003 after the banning of the Republican Democratic Movement.Arthur ...
. Two of three other contenders failed to get official documents approved and were not accepted into the race, whilst the other party was said to have effectively disintegrated, leaving no real opposition to Kagame. The three candidates running against Kagame had supported him in the 2003 election and were described by other parties as the RPF's "political satellites" – token opposition used to maintain a façade of pluralism.


Conduct

The run-up to the elections saw the "killings of opposition figures," including the unsolved beheading of the vice-president of the Democratic Green Party,
André Kagwa Rwisereka André Kagwa Rwisereka (31 December 1949 – 13 July 2010) was vice-chairman of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, a political party founded in August 2009 in Rwanda. He was found murdered and partially beheaded near a wetland in Butare on 14 ...
, whilst the murder of journalist
Jean-Léonard Rugambage Jean-Léonard Rugambage was a Rwandan journalist, acting editor of the newspaper ''Umuvugizi''. He was murdered after an assailant shot him four times in front of his home in Kigali on 24 June 2010. The newspaper had recently been suspended by t ...
, sparked concern and prompted the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
to demand an investigation. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
described the electoral campaign as "marred by violence and intimidation against opposition politicians." Burkinabé newspaper ''Le Pays'' – in an article relayed by the ''
Courrier International ''Courrier International'' ( French for "International Mail") is a Paris-based French weekly newspaper which translates and publishes excerpts of articles from over 900 international newspapers. It also has a Portuguese and a Japanese edition. '' ...
'' – condemned the killing of "those who might disturb Paul Kagame's reelection," and called on the international community to take a hard stance against the Kagame government.
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
also condemned the attacks and called on the government to ensure an atmosphere for Rwandans to "freely express their views," where the killing had created a climate of repression to inhibit freedom of expression. "In recent months, killings, arrests and the closure of newspapers and broadcasters has reinforced a climate of fear. The Rwandan government must ensure that investigations into the killings are thorough and reinstate closed media outlets." In June, Rwanda was also embroiled in controversy after freeing an American lawyer, who worked with the Tanzania-based
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...
, and was arrested and charged with "genocide denial and threatening state security."
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
also recalled its ambassador to Rwanda to discuss the situation in the country the week before the elections. This came about two months after a dissident Rwandan general survived an assassination attempt in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who was a critic of Kagame, alleged that it was an assassination attempt, a charge Rwanda denied. Days later, a journalist who claimed to have uncovered the regime's responsibility in the attempted murder was shot dead. After South Africa arrested five men over the shooting and revealed their nationalities, Rwanda summoned the South African ambassador to express concern about the investigation. However, South Africa denied the recall was in "making any connections between the government of Rwanda and the shooting of the general." Opposition parties also said more than 30 newspapers had been banned. Amnesty International also said opposition party figures had been intimidated, journalists had been targeted and killed, and several senior officers critical of the ruling party attacked and arrested. Foreign Minister
Louise Mushikiwabo Louise Mushikiwabo (born 22 May 1961) is the fourth and current Secretary General of Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. She previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda from 2009 to 2018. She also se ...
refuted the claims saying "The international media and human rights groups are misrepresenting what is happening in the country. My government does not stand to gain from any actions of insecurity. Paul Kagame happens to be a very popular candidate. I think to point a finger at this government is wrong. Anyone who is reading the situation from Rwanda would know that there is an atmosphere of excitement among the public." Anil K Gayan, a former foreign minister of Mauritius and the head of the AU monitoring delegation, said "We have not received any evidence of intimidation." He also talked about the turnout for the elections saying that though political rallies may have been well attended "Crowds do not necessarily translate into votes." Kagame also refuted opposition claims and said the vote was "very democratic. The people of Rwanda were free to stand for election, those who wanted to, and to qualify, so I see no problem. Some sections of the media seem to be reading from a different page."


Violence

Although the election campaign was mostly conducted peacefully, there have been a number of incidents which attracted international attention. In February and March 2010 there were a series of attacks in
Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...
, killing one person and injuring several, which were linked to the upcoming election. This and other bombings in the country were attributed to the Hutu-dominated
Interhamwe The Interahamwe ( or ) is a Hutu paramilitary organization active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The Interahamwe was formed around 1990 as the youth wing of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND ...
and the exiled former Rwandan ambassador to India, General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa.


Results

Kagame was declared the winner of the elections, according to results released by the National Electoral Commission on . However, opposition and human rights groups said the elections were tainted by repression, murder and lack of credible competition. Kagame responded saying "I see no problems, but there are some people who choose to see problems where there are not." Observers also criticised the poll because the campaign was devoid of "critical opposition voices" with the three other candidates standing in the poll linked to Kagame's party.


Aftermath

A
grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
attack occurred in Kigali hours after the election commission announced Kagame's victory, injuring about 20 people. Media reports indicated the attack may have been politically motivated and connected to earlier attacks in the same area.Grenade blast rocks Rwandan capital
Al Jazeera, 11 August 2010 In the months after the elections, arrests of opposition figures continued. Victoire Ingabire, the leader of the
United Democratic Forces The United Democratic Forces ( bg, Обединени Демократични Сили, ОДС/ODS) were a center-right electoral alliance in Bulgaria, led by the Union of Democratic Forces. Members of the coalition 1997 * Union of Democrati ...
, was arrested on the basis of statements made by a former military officer that she had a connection with an alleged plot to form a "terrorist group." This came after she was already under judicial control.Anger over Rwanda opposition arrest
Al Jazeera, 16 October 2010


References


External links


Rwanda Holds Presidential Election Amid Crackdown on Opposition Candidates
Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
{{Rwandan elections Presidential elections in Rwanda
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...