Rwanda: Paul Kagame re-elected leader of ruling party

Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), the ruling party in Rwanda, re-elected Sunday country President Paul Kagame as its leader, ahead of the presidential polls to take place next year.

An election at the party 16th congress gave Kagame overwhelming majority, with 2,999 votes, or 99.8% of the total votes, over his closest contender Abdulkarim Harelimana who got 3 votes or 0.2%, according to a Rwandan national daily.

The re-election grants Kagame ticket to run next year for another five-year presidential term. Kagame has been leading the Eastern African country for 22 years and the party has been in power since 1998.

Late last month, the government approved a proposal by Kagame to amend the country’s Constitution to allow “harmonization of parliamentary and presidential elections calendars.”

Parliamentary elections are currently scheduled to take place in August this year, but if the constitutional change is implemented, they may be pushed back to next year to be held simultaneously with presidential polls.

The East African country last amended its Constitution in 2015, to allow Kagame to extend his rule by a seven-year term commencing in 2017. It can be followed by two further five-year presidential mandates.