International observers from the European Union have welcomed the smooth operation of the Rwandan election.

Four in Five Rwandans are believed to have voted in the recent election, and with half the votes counted, it appears president Paul Kagame will remain in his post.

More than 90% of the vote so far has gone in favour of the incumbent president and there has been little reported violence or ethnic tension while the polls were open.

Defeated opponents have complained of some unfair practice, such as the possible arrests of small numbers of campaigners on grounds of planning violence. It has also been suggested that there are a few cases of officials directing voters on who to vote for.

Rwanda suffered major unrest less than ten years ago when the ethnic majority Hutus’ attempted genocide against the minority Tutsis’ and killed 800,000 people.

Mr Kagame was a leader of the Tutsi rebels who fought back against the extremists, and called on Rwandans to vote as Rwandans rather than as members of their ethnic group.