Kagame’s victory to sustain critics’ concerns about the validity of Rwanda’s electoral process – Sentiments

By Monica MUEMA

President Paul Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front coalition won by a landslide in the July 15 election, according to Sub-Saharan Africa Monthly Outlook for July 2024 by BMI, a Fitch Solutions Company.

We expect that the government will continue to pursue investor friendly policies to attract foreign direct investment and promote the development of key sectors, including manufacturing and tourism.

Amnesty International noted that ‘political opposition continue to face severe restrictions to their right to freedom of association, as well as threats [and] arbitrary detention’.

Relations between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will remain strained in the near term.

Since the UN peacekeeping force in eastern DRC began its phased withdrawal in Q1 2024, there has been a marked uptick in M23 activity in affected territories.

The report further noted that the dependent on international community exerting increased pressure on Rwanda to stop supporting M23 in eastern DRC, adding that the increased insurgent activity in the DRC’s eastern provinces will increase the risk of cross-border skirmishes, fueling tensions between Kigali and Kinshasa.

“This is the least likely scenario. International mediation efforts have slowed in recent months, with both the UN and East African Community withdrawing peacekeeping forces from the DRC,” noted the BMI report.