this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2024
26 points (100.0% liked)

World News

38979 readers
2162 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

KIGALI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Rwanda's President Paul Kagame was sworn into office on Sunday for a five-year term, after a landslide win in last month's election extended his near quarter century in office.

The 66-year-old former rebel leader won the July poll with 99.18% of the vote, after eight other candidates including his most vocal critics were barred by the electoral commission.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] dactylotheca@suppo.fi 8 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I think it's interesting is that so many autocracies keep up the pretense of democratic and rules-based governance; even North Korea has elections. Same with political trials like you see in so many authoritarian regimes, from modern Russia or China to Nazi Germany – it's like autocrats need to be able to pretend to themselves that the system they run is fair and just, and that they're not just tyrants who govern with impunity and enforce rules arbitrarily.

What I don't get is why? Why bother when it's immediately obvious to everyone that it's all a sham? Why not drop the pretense, which everybody knows is just a pretense?

[–] Carmakazi@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

One, it does give some room to dismiss accusations, even if just rhetorically.

Two, when you are able to coerce your subjects to say the sky is green, the sun sets in the East, and Dear Leader won the election, its an exercise of power over them. It feeds the ego and it becomes a litmus test for the disloyal.

[–] Ransom@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago

Given what happened in Rwanda 30 years ago, and given that we haven’t seen a repeat since then, I think Kagame is doing a good job. I’m not sure how I feel about him being in power for so long, but I also don’t think we’re in the best place to judge (the West) given how abysmally we failed Rwanda over the past 200 years.