Since then, he has been praised for overseeing the country's dramatic revival and unifying it.
“Rwanda was effectively closed 30 years ago, but thanks to the leadership of Kagame and his ruling party, Rwanda has achieved a degree of stability,” Dr Felix Ndahinda, a scholar from the Great Lakes region, told the BBC.
But his critics accuse Kagame of failing to tolerate any dissent, and instead of orchestrating the assassination of dissidents across his borders.
President Kagame has always been a strong defender of Rwanda's human rights record and said his country respects political freedom.
But one analyst told the BBC the election was merely a “formality”.
According to the election commission, about 9 million people are registered to vote, and at least 2 million are voting for the first time.
The provisional winner will be announced by Tuesday morning.
Voters will elect the president and 53 members of the House of Representatives on Monday, and the other 27 members the following day.
“I'm very excited and looking forward to voting for the first time,” Sylvia Mutoni told the BBC.
For most young people in Rwanda, Mr Kagame is the only leader they know.
He served as Vice President and Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 2000, but was in fact the country's leader and has been President since 2000.
The two opposition candidates, Frank Habinezza of the Democratic Green Party and Philip Mpaimana, an independent, both ran in the 2017 election, garnering a combined vote of just over 1%.
But they don't give in.
“I believe that democracy is a process,” Habinezha told the BBC Focus on Africa podcast.
“People are still afraid to express their opinions. I am fighting for freedom of speech, freedom of the press,” he said.
And some Rwandans are listening to him, with one voter telling the BBC he would not vote for the incumbent president.
Celestine Mutuyeju, 28, supported President Kagame but was heavily influenced by President Habinezza in this election.
“He said nice things about fighting unemployment, and he won me over,” he said.
But defeating President Kagame may be difficult.
Diane Lugara, an outspoken critic of the president, was banned from running for office. She was also disqualified in 2017.
“Rwanda is portrayed as a country with a growing economy. But on the ground it's different. People lack the basics of life, food, water, shelter,” she told the BBC.
The election commission said she failed to provide the correct documentation.
