PICTURES: Rwandans in Uganda throng polling station

Rwandans in Ugandan poured into their high commission office along Nakaima Road in Kitante near Uganda National Museum to cast their ballot in the 2024 presidential election. Rwandans in Diaspora were first off to vote starting today, Sunday, with the nation going to poll on Monday and Tuesday for presidential and parliamentary elections. Incumbent President Paul Kagame is seeking re-election for a fourth term with independent Phillippe Mpayimana and Green Party's Frank Habineza as his only challengers. Amb Joseph Rutabana led the way at the polling station, registering his detail and casting his ballot Kagame has been president of Rwanda for 24 years and has been the de-facto ruler of the country since 1994. He has changed the constitution twice to extend his rule. Mr Kagame, 66, came to power when he stopped the 1994 genocide on July 4, 1994. He first tiptoed in the shadows as a vice president defence minister, formally becoming president of a transitional government in 2000. Mr Kagame organised Rwanda's first ever presidential elections on August 25, 2003. He was elected to a seven-year term with 95 percent of the vote. Mr Kagame has won elections in 2010 and 2017, each time with more than 90 percent of the vote - the last time with 98.7 percent. Kagame presided over constitutional changes in 2015 that reduced a presidential mandate - from the 2024 vote onwards - to five years from seven but also allowed him to run for two more terms and potentially stay in power until 2034. Ahead of the July 2024 polls, two opposition parties declared their backing for Mr Kagame. The Liberal Party (PL) on Sunday endorsed incumbent President Paul Kagame for a fourth term. The decision by PL, led by Donatille Mukabalisa, who is also the speaker of Rwandan parliament, followed fast on the heel of that of Vincent Biruta's Social Democratic Party. Dr Biruta is the current minister for foreign affairs in Kagame's government. Mukabalisa, who urged Rwandans to vote to extend Kagame's three-decade stronghold on the central African state, said he was characterised by good leadership. Independent candidate Phillippe Mpayimana in 2017 upset the bookies by turning in 49,031 votes to beat Habineza by nearly 15,000 votes as the two combined for 1.2 percent of the vote in Kagame's 98.79 percent landslide. The election at the high commission started with polling agents taking oath The election did not come without controversy as three opposition aspirants were blocked from the polls. Victoire Ingabire and Bernard Ntaganda were both barred the High Court in Kigali while Diane Rwigara was told she had not met the requirements by the electoral commission Incumbent President Paul Kagame is widely expected to sweep to another landslide victory. He is widely credited with restoration of peace and tranquility and setting the central African state on a path to transformation after the 1994 pogrom that reduce the country to ash. But Mr Kagame...

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