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Rwanda's leading opposition leader, Faustin Twagiramungu, has filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to nullify the just-ended presidential elections, according to his spokesman.
"We need the Supreme Court, within its powers and independence, to nullify the just-concluded elections because they do not reflect the will of the people of Rwanda," the spokesman, Ismail Mbonigaba, told IRIN on Friday.
The petition cites cases of intimidation, pressure brought to bear on voters to vote for the incumbent, Paul Kagame, incidences of vote rigging and general violations of the electoral law as grounds for annulling the 25 August presidential polls. The document also accuses the National Electoral Commission of failing to observe impartiality throughout the electoral process, and Kagame of buying votes.
Kagame, the incumbent, won 95.05 percent of the vote, Twagiramungu got 3.62 percent and Nepomuscene Nayinzira 1.33 percent.
The court has not yet set a date for a preliminary hearing.
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