Rwandans vote in election that's expected to extend Kagame's 30-year rule

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwandans voted Monday in a presidential election that is expected to extend the rule of President Paul Kagame, who has held power since the end of the country's genocide in 1994.

The authoritarian leader, 66, is running virtually unopposed. Provisional results were expected later Monday.

Kagame faced the same opponents — Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana — in the previous election in 2017 in which Kagame took nearly 99% of the vote.

His opponents struggled to attract supporters during campaigning, but Habineza told The Associated Press that his party “has improved, and we are confident we will perform very well this time.”

There were long lines at some polling stations in the capital, Kigali. Election authorities said 9.5 million Rwandans were registered to vote in the country's population of 14 million.

“This is going to be my first time to vote. I am voting for President Kagame because I have never seen a leader like him before,” said passenger motorcyclist Jean Claude Nkurunziza.

Kagame has led the East African country since he seized power as the head of rebels who took control of the government and ended the genocide in 1994. He was vice president and de facto leader from 1994 to 2000, when he became president.

He has been condemned by many as a violent authoritarian but praised by others for presiding over impressive growth in the three decades since the genocide.

Kagame is among African leaders who have prolonged their rule by pursuing changes to term limits. In 2015, Rwandans in a referendum voted to lift a two-term limit.

Now Kagame could stay in power until 2034.

On Saturday, he told journalists that his mandate comes from the people.

"The ruling party and Rwandans have been asking me to stand for another mandate," he said. ”At a personal level, I can comfortably go home and rest.”

Rwanda’s election takes place amid heightened fears of insecurity in Africa’s Great Lakes region. Rebels known as M23 are fighting Congolese forces in a remote area of neighboring eastern Congo.

Between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan forces are fighting alongside M23, United Nations experts said in a report circulated last week. The U.S. government has described the group as being backed by Rwanda.

Rwanda accuses Congo’s military of recruiting fighters who were among the perpetrators of the genocide.

Rights groups continue to raise alarm over harsh restrictions on human rights, including freedom of association, in Rwanda.

Amnesty International in a recent statement expressed concern over “threats, arbitrary detention, prosecution on trumped-up charges, killings and enforced disappearances” targeting the political opposition. It said the suppression of dissenting voices, including among civic groups and the media, “has a chilling effect and limits the space for debate for people of Rwanda.”

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Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, seen reflected in a window, arrives to cast his vote in a presidential election, in Kigali, Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting Monday in a presidential election that is expected to extend the long rule of Kagame, who has held power since 1994. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, center, arrives to cast his vote in the presidential elections, in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting Monday in a presidential election that is expected to extend the long rule of Kagame, who has held power since 1994. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

People line up to cast their vote in presidential election in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting in an election that is expected to extend the 30-year rule of President Paul Kagame. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

People line up to cast their vote in a presidential election in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting in an election that is expected to extend the 30-year rule of President Paul Kagame. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

People line up to cast their vote in a presidential election in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting in an election that is expected to extend the 30-year rule of President Paul Kagame. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A woman casts her vote in a presidential election in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting in an election that is expected to extend the 30-year rule of President Paul Kagame. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

People line up to cast their vote in a presidential election in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting in an election that is expected to extend the 30-year rule of President Paul Kagame. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A voter holds a ballot paper with the names and pictures of the presidential candidates at a polling station in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting in an election that is expected to extend the 30-year rule of President Paul Kagame. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame looks at his hands after casting his vote in a presidential election, in Kigali, Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting Monday in a presidential election that is expected to extend the long rule of Kagame, who has held power since 1994. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame casts his vote in a presidential election, in Kigali, Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting Monday in a presidential election that is expected to extend the long rule of Kagame, who has held power since 1994. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A woman casts her vote in a presidential election in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, July. 15, 2024. Rwandans are voting in an election that is expected to extend the 30-year rule of President Paul Kagame. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical storm conditions were expected along a stretch of the southeastern U.S. coast with a system bringing gusty winds, heavy rain and potential flooding, forecasters said Monday.

The storm system was expected to reach the South Carolina coast Monday afternoon and then move inland across the Carolinas from Monday night through Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Strong winds were approaching the coast Monday morning and were expected to spread onshore.

The system didn't have an official name yet, and forecasters weren't sure if Potential Tropical Cyclone No. 8 would ever organize enough to be named Helene.

But no matter its classification, the storm prompted school closings, including Coastal Carolina University, and flooded the streets south of Wilmington, North Carolina, with more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain while nearby Wrightsville Beach had a wind gust of 65 mph (105 kph).

A tropical storm warning was in effect from the South Santee River north of Charleston, South Carolina, northward to Ocracoke Inlet, near the southernmost extreme of North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Late Monday morning, the low-pressure system was centered about 95 miles (150 kilometers) east of Charleston and about 70 miles (115 kilometers) south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) and was moving to the north-northwest at 5 mph (7 kph), forecasters said.

The system still had a chance of becoming a tropical or subtropical storm, but forecasters said those chances are decreasing because it was becoming less organized.

That means the strongest winds in the storm are in outer rain bands instead of near the center, said Carl Morgan, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's office in Wilmington.

“There are still strong winds out there. They just not concentrating near a center,” Morgan said.

Areas along the coast are already experiencing higher water levels thanks to King Tides this week while the moon is the closest to Earth in its orbit. Charleston was not predicting major flooding, but officials warned residents to be ready in case heavy rain came at high tide.

In an updated hurricane outlook last month the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was still predicting a highly active Atlantic hurricane season thanks to near-record sea surface temperatures and the possibility of La Nina. Emergency management officials have urged people to stay prepared.

Maximum winds were expected to decrease as the low approached the coast, but tropical storm-force winds were still expected within the warning areas. The system will likely dissipate over the Carolinas by late Wednesday, forecasters said.

The storm was expected to dump 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain in northeast South Carolina into southeast North Carolina and up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) in isolated spots, with smaller amounts expected across the remainder of North Carolina through Tuesday, according to forecasters.

Over much of Virginia, 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 centimeters) of rainfall, with locally higher amounts, were expected from Monday night through Wednesday. The hurricane center predicted the rainfall could lead to isolated and scattered flash and urban flooding, as well as minor river flooding.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Gordon weakened to a depression as it swirls through open ocean waters. Gordon could either dissolve in upcoming days or strengthen back into a tropical storm, forecasters said.

This image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows tropical storm conditions along a stretch of the U.S. Southeast seacoast, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (NOAA via AP)