Rwandans have begun voting in the country’s presidential and legislative elections, which are poised to extend longtime leader Paul Kagame’s tenure for another five years.
Polling stations opened at about 7am local time where more than nine million people registered to participate.
Kagame, who has been Rwanda’s de facto leader for three decades, is almost certain to retain the presidency, facing only two challengers after Rwandan courts banned his most prominent critics.
The outlook mirrors that of the last election in 2017, when Kagame dominated his rivals with close to 99 percent of the vote.
Dispora election were conducted o Sunday where Rwandan community living in Kenya turned out in large numbers at polling stations in Nairobi and Mombasa to vote for Rwanda’s next president and members of parliament.
The diaspora elections were held a day ahead of those in the capital, Kigali, where voters will choose today who will lead the country for the next five years.
The presidential candidates are incumbent Paul Kagame of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), lawmaker Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana.