Guest blog: Marcellin Gascana on the Rwanda elections
| 09:34 UK time, Monday, 30 August 2010
"You can force someone to attend but you can't force someone to vote."
That was Paul Kagame, Rwanda's re-elected President, reacting to international and opponents' criticisms over Rwanda's 9 August 2010 Presidential polls.
The 9 August Presidential polls in Rwanda registered a slight upturn in the percentage of votes - to an extraordinary 97%.
But before, during and after the elections, some of Kagame's political opponents - such as Victoire Ingabire, who Rwanda's electoral commission prevented from running for presidency on genocide accusations - as well as qualified Rwanda's elections as not free and fair.
Responding on these critics on 20 August 2010, Paul Kagame condemned what he called "baseless criticisms" as he was spoke to local leaders in a meeting aimed at congratulating his people for having proved the critics wrong:
"What impressed me from the just concluded elections is that whenever criticisms came out, Rwandans worked to prove them wrong. My observation from my tour around the country is that what Rwandans did during the campaigns carried a message to the critics. They were telling, those critics, but the way you want and wish us to be, and what you think about us is wrong".
Rwandans took Kagame to power for a second seven-year mandate as they elected him with over 93% of votes in what has been seen by many as the most unprecedented presidential elections in Africa.
His campaign attracted supporters numbering up to 150,000 in some places.
Meanwhile he has also reacted to some people's reports insisting that Rwandans were forced to attend his campaigns and vote for him:
"It wouldn't be wise to say that Rwandans were forced to vote. Assume that people were forced to attend campaigns, how would one force them to show happiness? Would you be able to force them to go back home in a state of happiness? Come on, this is nonsense! You can't force people to fake happiness. On August 9th how could anyone have forced people to vote for a candidate they don't want? Voters are free to choose who they want except when they vote on gunpoint."
He is now emphasising the need for leaders to give back to the community by working together to improve living conditions.
What other challenges face him and Rwanda?
