The Facts

• Rwanda's presidential and parliamentary elections began on Monday with the East African country's long-time leader, Pres. Paul Kagame, reportedly set to secure his fourth term in office.

• About 9M Rwandans in one of Africa's fastest-growing economies headed to the polls to elect the president and 53 members of the 80-seat parliament. Voting for the remaining 27 seats will be held on Tuesday.

• Kagame was appointed president by parliament in 2000 after he led the Rwandan Patriotic Front rebel group against Hutu extremists and ended the 1994 genocide — which killed 800K people, mostly members of the Tutsi ethnic minority.