After conceding defeat to incumbent president Paul Kagame, Frank Habineza, the chairman of the Green Party, has commended Rwandans for their support in the just concluded July 14-16 elections and promised to continue striving for the improvement of the country and fostering participatory democracy. On polling day, Habineza expressed confidence as he hoped to secure at least 55 percent of the presidential votes but emphasized his readiness to accept the election results. During an interview at a polling site in Kimironko Sector, in Kigali, where he cast his vote, on Monday, he said, “In case the party didn’t achieve the expected outcomes, I will accept the results as long as the elections are conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.” ALSO READ: ‘As long as elections are free, fair, I will accept results’, says Habineza On July 17, Habineza expressed gratitude through his X account, saying, “Dear Rwandans, I deeply appreciate all those who voted for me as President and for voting the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda into Parliament. “We will continue to strive for the betterment of our country and participatory democracy.” Dear #Rwandans ,I deeply appreciate all those who voted for me as President & for voting the @DemGreenPartyRw into @RwandaParliamnt .We will continue to strive for the betterment of our country #Rwanda & participatory democracy. #Rwot @RwandaElections pic.twitter.com/gB97Sypgr0 — Dr.Frank Habineza (@Drfrankhabineza) July 17, 2024 ALSO READ: Kagame secures 99% in partial results, poised for landslide win With over 7 million votes tallied and as vote counting continued in Rwanda’s presidential election, incumbent Paul Kagame had secured an astounding 99.15 per cent of the vote, leaving his opponents far behind, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced on Monday, July 15, also reporting a massive 98 per cent voter turnout, underscoring the election’s significance to Rwandans. Kagame’s closest rival, Habineza, had managed only 0.53 per cent of the vote, while independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana trailed with 0.32 per cent. Later, it also emerged that the RPF-Inkotanyi coalition secured majority votes in the parliamentary elections, according to partial results announced by the National Electoral Commission early on Wednesday. With 96.73% of the votes counted as of Tuesday evening, the RPF and its allied parties secured 62.67 per cent. The lower chamber of Parliament is composed of 80 legislators, with the remaining 27 elected for through electoral colleges made up of women, youth and people with disability. ALSO READ: RPF-led coalition wins 62% votes in parliamentary polls The Liberal Party (PL) secured 10.97 per cent of the votes, which could earn it about six seats in the lower house. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) got 9.48 per cent of the votes, which is likely to translate into about five seats. The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda got 5.3 per cent of the votes. ALSO READ: PDI welcomes parliamentary poll results, set to get more seats PS-Imberakuri got 5.26 per cent of the votes and Janvier Nsengimana, the only candidate who ran as an independent got 44,881 votes which translated into 0.51 per cent of the votes. He fell short of the minimum 5 per cent of the votes required to get a seat in the Chamber of Deputies. The electoral commission is set to announce provisional results no later than July 20, with final results expected by July 27. Kagame on Tuesday said that the landslide victory is a demonstration of the trust Rwandans have in him, noting that it is built over time.
