Presidential elections were held in Rwanda on 4 August 2017. The incumbent President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, was re-elected to a third seven-year term with 98,79% of the vote.
He secured a third term in office and extending his 17 years in power.
Kagame, a commander who led Tutsi rebel forces into Rwanda to end the 1994 genocide, banned the use of tribal terms after becoming president.
Rwanda is a sovereign state in Central and East Africa and one of the smallest countries on the African mainland.
Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Rwanda is in the African Great Lakes region and is highly elevated; its geography is dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country.
Rwanda’s economy suffered heavily during the 1994 genocide, with widespread loss of life, failure to maintain infrastructure, looting, and neglect of important cash crops.