Rwanda’s incumbent president, Paul Kagame, is headed for a landslide victory in yesterday’s elections. The main opposition candidate, Faustin Twagiramungu, lost by an overwhelmingly large percentage.
With just about half the ballots counted, electoral officials say Mr. Kagame has won 94 percent of the vote. But the results will not go unchallenged.
English to Africa reporter Kim Lewis spoke with Mr. Twagiramungu about the elections and asked why he’s challenging the outcome. Mr. Twagiramungu has already filed several complaints of fraud, and intimidation against the Rwandan government.
He said the elections were not conducted fairly: “People were controlled, people were forced to vote. It’s not possible that we in the opposition got only 3.7% of the vote. There is something wrong.”
Mr. Twagiramungu said his goal was not to become president of Rwanda but to establish a democratic message to his country. He said if the elections had been democratic, he would have received at least 32 to 40% of the vote.
Click above links to download or listen to Mr. Twagiramungu comments.