Skip to main content
Monday, November 2, 2026Nov 2
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

Rwandans vote to lift term limits; partial poll results

Rwandans in Nairobi, Kenya, line up to vote at the Rwandan Embassy, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, in a referendum to decide whether to extend President Paul Kagame’s term in office, in Rwanda. (AP Photo)
Rwandans in Nairobi, Kenya, line up to vote at the Rwandan Embassy, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, in a referendum to decide whether to extend President Paul Kagame’s term in office, in Rwanda. (AP Photo) Rwandans in Nairobi, Kenya, line up to vote at the Rwandan Embassy, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, in a referendum to decide whether to extend President Paul Kagame’s term in office, in Rwanda. (AP Photo)

By Associated Press 1 min read

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) – The head of Rwanda’s electoral commission says partial results show Rwandans have voted to lift term limits in order to allow President Paul Kagame extend his rule.

Mbanda Kalisa said Friday that 98.1 percent from 21 out of 30 districts, representing 70 percent of registered voters, voted to lift term limits for Kagame. Kagame’s supporters are celebrating the announcement in the capital, Kigali.

Kagame became president in 2000 after being Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the country’s genocide in 1994. He is credited with stabilizing the country and promoting economic growth after the mass killings, but critics say he is an authoritarian ruler who does not tolerate opposition and he is accused of human rights abuses.