Chinese President Xi Jinping, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat on Tuesday, July 23, sent their congratulations to Paul Kagame upon his re-election as Rwandan President.
They joined other leaders who sent their congratulatory messages to Kagame after he won the July 14-16 elections by a landslide, earning a five-year term.
Kagame’s 99 per cent election victory was confirmed as on Monday after the National Electoral Commission released the final results of the elections.
According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, President Xi pointed out that Rwanda is a traditional friendly country of China, and that in recent years, China-Rwanda relations have developed rapidly, with fruitful results achieved in cooperation in various sectors and traditional friendship continuously deepening.
The Chinese leader said he stands ready to work with Kagame to further enhance mutual political trust, expand and deepen practical cooperation in various fields, so as to promote bilateral relations to a new level.
Kagame’s “brilliant re-election reflects the renewed confidence of your fellow citizens in your leadership and in your vision for the future of your country,” said the Togolese President Gnassingbe in a post on X.
“I take this happy opportunity to send you, as well as the Rwandan people, my warm congratulations and those of the Togolese people.
“I hope that this new mandate will be one of continuous strengthening of relations of cooperation between our countries and fraternity between our peoples.”
In his congratulatory message to Kagame, AU’s Mahamat said in a Tuesday post on X that he looked forward to working with Rwanda to achieve continental goals.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the Government under [Kagame’s] leadership to achieve our shared Continental objectives of peace, development and prosperity,” Mahamat said.
Countries whose leaders sent the message to Kagame include Barbados, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Liberia, and Madagascar.
There are also leaders of Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Oman, Qatar, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela, and Zambia.
More than 8.9 million Rwandans cast their ballots, representing a 98 per cent turnout in presidential and parliamentary elections described by observers as “peaceful and calm.”
Kagame’s message
On Tuesday, Kagame sent his gratitude to the leaders who sent their congratulatory messages and support after his re-election.
“We look forward to continuing the mutually beneficial ties for and between our people,” he said in a post on X.
The Rwandan Constitution determines that the elected president is sworn in within 30 days after elections. Kagame is expected to be sworn in before August 14.
