President Paul Kagame has thanked Rwandans for re-electing him for a third term and criticised attempts to interfere in the country’s politics.
He was speaking soon after taking the oath of office at the Amahoro National Stadium in the capital, Kigali.
The ceremony was broadcast live by state-owned RTV and attended by dozens of African leaders and dignitaries.
Every attempt that was made whether from within and especially from outside to denigrate the process and glorify the old politics of division only made Rwandans more defiant and more determined to express ourselves through the vote.
He added:
Our experience is that we will be vilified anyway, no matter what. So, we might as well do what we know is right for our people because the results are much better and the costs are much lower.”
Mr Kagame also thanked his opponents in the 4 August election, which he won by a landslide, saying they had “created a positive environment where no vote was cast against anyone, but rather all were cast for Rwanda”.
He was challenged by Frank Habineza, from the Democratic Green Party, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent