During this week, RPF Party Candidate, President Paul Kagame held rallies in 9 districts that include Gasabo, Rulindo, Gakenke, Musanze, Burera, Nyabihu, Rubavu, Ngororero and Muhanga. At every location there have been record crowds to greet President Kagame, in one rally in Musanze there were over 120,000 people to hear his every word. This must say something about the popularity of RPF and Kagame, firstly it says that he is more popular in rural areas than was otherwise thought, secondly his message and achievements are chiming with ordinary Rwandans.
In Rwanda it is sometimes hard to gage the public mood, we do not do public opinion polls, so many areas are inaccessible and off the radar of the media. So the enthusiasm shown by crowds in many rural areas is more than was expected. The RPF has many development strategies aimed at poor rural voters, agricultural, health and education policies have been most helpful in providing a better quality of life than they are used to. One must remember the history of Rwanda, in how previous governments hardly did anything constructive in their lives. However the RPF does not judge itself by these low standards and is giving the people more than they hoped for.
The is no doubt the RPF has unrivalled popularity among all Rwandans, it is not unusual considering what has happened since 1994. The RPF assumed power around the same time the ANC took power in South Africa, like the ANC they have enjoyed the benefits of being a liberating force and a party of development. The fact that the ANC is credited with ending apartheid and introducing black empowerment policies means it is hard for any rival parties to match it for popularity and they win as much as 80% in an open inclusive democratic system.
The RPF under Paul Kagame is credited with ending the Genocide, it also pacified and unified a fractured country, and finally it has delivered in terms of economic and social development. It is for that reason that it enjoys an overwhelming level of support in all regions of the country. It has activists in every village, town and district of Rwanda and can represent people from areas that few other parties can reach. The other parties do not have the human, financial and ideological resources to create a national program of development, nor do they have the list of achievements that the RPF has.
As an incumbent, Paul Kagame is judged on his achievements and not wishes and promises. The people who showed up were not forced to attend, it was their personal choice to do so. If the RPF had not benefitted them, then they would have stayed away. The RPF campaign has benefited from merging technology with old-fashioned campaigning, a hi-tech campaign van has brought the marvels of multi-media to the deepest outlying regions of Rwanda. This has allowed for bigger and bigger rallies and even two rallies a day. However, the large crowds are beyond the expectations of even the most optimistic RPF strategists.
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