“Democracy is about more than holding elections,” the White House said in a statement last Friday. While congratulating President Kagame for securing another seven-year term, Washington said it “remain(s) concerned about a series of disturbing events prior to the election”.
Kagame won the August 9 ballot with roughly 93 per cent. He faced three contestants, all his former partners in a post-genocide coalition government, and critics said the challenge was a smokescreen.
The unsettling acts cited include the suspension of two newspapers, the expulsion of a human rights researcher, the barring of two opposition parties from taking part in the election, and the arrest of journalists, an American lawyer who flew to be her attorney was also arrested and detained for days.
In the statement, the White House warned that Rwanda’s stability and growing prosperity will “be difficult to sustain in the absence of broad political debate and open political participation”.
“We hope the (Rwandan) leadership will take steps toward more democratic governance, increased respect for minority and opposition views, and continued peace,” the statement said.
It added: “No one should underestimate the enormous challenges born of the genocide in 1994. (However), Rwanda’s progress in the face of these challenges has been remarkable, and is a testament to the people of Rwanda.”
The US said Rwanda’s Electoral Commission has a responsibility to “handle any election complaints fairly and promptly”.
Source: Africanews