KIGALI, Rwanda — Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, who has been in control of this country since 1994 and helped resurrect it from genocide into one of the most orderly nations in Africa, appeared to have been re-elected on Monday by an overwhelming margin, according to incomplete election results released early Tuesday.

Many Rwandans said they had voted for Mr. Kagame for delivering very tangible benefits to their lives, like more schools, more roads, decent Internet service and a sense of peace and security. However, some Rwandans complained about being forced to vote for him, and in the months leading up to the election, several opposition leaders and journalists were jailed or killed.

“Kagame, Kagame, Kagame!” shouted Ignace Ntezimana, a college student who said he had cast his vote for the president. He rattled off a list of reasons why: “Security. Education. Infrastructure.”

But the most important reason, he said, was this: “Kagame is our leader. We have to follow him.”

Voters lined up in neat, quiet lines before dawn. In some precincts, every voter on the registry had cast a ballot in the first hour, according to state media. The president’s team was so confident that they began inviting people to the victory bash before the polls had closed.

But then none of his three challengers, all former allies, was considered a genuine alternative. The leading opposition politicians who have spoken out against Mr. Kagame were barred from competing. (The government cited technical reasons.) One opposition leader was recently found dead, with his head nearly chopped off.

Some ballot boxes were swathed in shiny pink fabric and festooned with bows, ribbons and balloons. The elaborate decorations, along with the reports of 100 percent turnout in some places, seemed to reinforce what Western human rights groups and critics inside the country have been saying about Rwanda’s democracy, that it is essentially a dressed-up dictatorship.

“Increasing political repression and a crackdown on free speech” was how Human Rights Watch described the pre-election environment. Several Rwandans said in recent interviews that local officials and police officers had made them contribute to the Kagame campaign and vote for him.

Voters here do not punch out a chad or scratch an X to cast their vote, but leave a carefully pressed thumb print next to their choice. This system seemed to feed into some voters’ suspicions that there was no such thing as a secret ballot here, and that if the government wanted to, it could determine who voted against the president.

“They are watching us,” said one man, Gaetan, who feared giving out his full name.

Yet many people seemed quite excited about another seven years of Mr. Kagame as president. And that may be the complicated reality in Rwanda — that the government is both repressive and genuinely liked at the same time. To many people in a poor corner of the poorest continent, Mr. Kagame has delivered what they need.

“These are Kagame schools,” said Theophile Hakizimana, a teacher, tapping the bricks of a rural school built a few years ago. He said he had just voted for Mr. Kagame. “I think just about everyone here did,” he said.

Mr. Hakizimana was 10 during Rwanda’s genocide in 1994, when Hutu death squads massacred 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

“Many countries said it would be impossible for us to rebuild,” he said. “Look at us now.”

Rwanda is considered one of Africa’s safest and least corrupt nations, and it has made enormous strides in expanding its economy and fighting poverty.

Mr. Kagame, 52, is a former rebel fighter who grew up as a refugee in Uganda. Analysts say he embodies a mix of progressive values and dictatorial tendencies. While he has abolished the death penalty, promoted women and embraced new technologies, he also seems allergic to dissent and has enforced hard-line policies.

He has justified his actions by saying that peace in Rwanda is still very fragile and that free expression could lead to another ethnic war. He and other government officials have denied any role in the recent attacks on opposition politicians and journalists.

 

Josh Kron contributed reporting.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/world/africa/10rwanda.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print