Voters in Rwanda are casting ballots today in an election that is expected to easily keep President Paul Kagame in office for a fourth straight term. Kagame has been in power since 2000, making him the only elected president of Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, during which up to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by militia members.
Ahead of the election, Rwandan courts banned Kagame’s biggest rivals from running. Rights groups have called out Kagame’s sweeping crackdown on the press and dissent, as well as his backing of M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have been accused of committing rape, murder and torture.