Rwandans hold first election since 1994 genocide ( 2003-08-25 16:18) (Agencies)
Rwandans held their first true presidential
election Monday, after a campaign dominated by talk of healing the 9-year-old
wounds of genocide but marred by reports of authorities harassing opposition
supporters.
Map of Rwanda
[CIA]
Supporters of incumbent President Paul
Kagame — who is expected to win — and Faustin Twagiramungu, the leading
opposition candidate, all agreed on the need to create jobs, raise income levels
and provide more access to education.
More than 60 percent of Rwanda's 8.2 million people live on less than a
dollar a day, and its economy was shattered by the 1994 ethnic bloodshed that
left half a million people dead, mainly minority Tutsis.
"We now have peace and security," said Emmanuelle Bijogo, a 20-year-old in
Kigali. Now "the government needs to create more jobs for people."
Bijogo said he plans to vote for Kagame because of the president's record and
the sense that "if Kagame is removed, there will be trouble."
The election is Rwanda's first contested vote since independence from Belgium
in 1962. First results are expected early Tuesday and the winner will be
announced Wednesday.
Kagame, a minority Tutsi, led the rebels who in 1994 toppled a regime of
extremists from the Hutu majority, ending the 100-day slaughter.
He then led the fight against remnants of the genocidal regime who attacked
the country from bases in neighboring Congo. At the same time, the government
rebuilt schools and hospitals, nursed the economy back to health and started the
process of reconciliation.
It is a record that has made Kagame popular among Rwandans. Backed by seven
of the country's nine recognized political parties, he is expected to win the
election.
But unemployment remains high and Rwanda is struggling to diversify an
economy dependent on coffee and tea exports and foreign aid, which covers more
than half of the country's budget.
A number of Twagiramungu supporters said the lack of economic opportunities
was a key factor in their decision at the polls.
But all refused to give their names for fear of retribution by the
authorities — a common refrain heard from Twagiramungu supporters throughout the
campaign.
Though officials deny any harassment of the opposition has taken place,
European Union observers and Western diplomats say some of the reports of
authorities threatening Twagiramungu supporters are true.
On Saturday, police arrested a dozen key campaign workers for Twagiramungu,
saying the men planned violently to disrupt the election.
Twagiramungu, a Hutu, denied the men were involved in any plot.
He virtually shut down his campaign in recent days after accusing authorities
of threatening his supporters and seeking to discredit him with accusations that
he has tied to stir up ethnic tensions to draw votes from Kagame.
Twagiramungu was a voice of moderation before the genocide, which he narrowly
escaped.
But Kagame has continued campaigning, repeatedly calling on Rwandans to think
as themselves as one people and not dwell on the divisions that led to the
genocide.
A third candidate, Alivera Mukabaramba, withdrew from the race Sunday and
called on her supporters to vote for Kagame, said Christian Marara, a spokesman.
A fourth candidate, Jean-Nepomuscene Nayinzira, has not campaigned.
