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Major Paul Kagame elected President

    NAIROBI
    A joint session of the Rwandan assembly and cabinet yesterday voted in Acting President Paul Kagame as the new President. Kagame secured 81 votes of 86 votes, with the other nominee, Secretary-General of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) securing five votes, government spokesman Joseph Bideri told IRIN. Both candidates were nominated by the RPF under the terms of the 1993 Arusha Accords on Rwanda, Bideri said. "The elections were transmitted live on radio and television, in the presence of diplomats here and the delegation of a visiting German minister. The new President will be sworn in on 22 April," he added. The last three months have seen significant changes in Rwandan politics, with both former prime minister Pierre-Celestin Rwigema and former president Pasteur Bizimungu having resigned. However, senior government officials have insisted there is no crisis. "We should instead be complimented for handling the situation carefully ... It is rare in Africa to see a president resigning without chaos [ensuing]," Kagame's political adviser told IRIN on Monday.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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