Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has won a seventh term in office following a tense election overshadowed by violence, arrests and an internet shutdown, according to official results and observer reports.
Museveni, 81, secured 71.65 percent of the vote in Thursday’s election, the Electoral Commission announced on Saturday. The poll was conducted amid reports of intimidation of opposition figures and civil society groups, as well as at least 10 election-related deaths.
His victory extends his rule of the East African nation to 40 years.
Opposition candidate Bobi Wine, a 43-year-old former singer-turned-politician, finished second with 24.72 percent of the vote. He said he was in hiding on Saturday following a raid by security forces on his home.
Wine, who has faced sustained pressure since entering politics, including multiple arrests before his first presidential bid in 2021, rejected the election outcome.
He stated his “complete rejection of the fake results” and said he fled after the raid on his residence late Friday night.
“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them,” Wine posted on X on Saturday. Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest.
“I know that these criminals are looking for me everywhere and I am trying my best to keep safe,” he added.
AFP journalists reported a heavy police presence around Kampala as security agencies moved to prevent demonstrations similar to those seen recently in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania.
Police denied raiding Wine’s residence but said they had restricted access to areas considered security risks, insisting the opposition leader was still at home.
“We have not necessarily denied people accessing him but we cannot tolerate instances where people use his residence to gather and… incite violence,” police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told reporters.
A stall-owner near Wine’s home, 29-year-old Prince Jerard, told AFP he heard a drone and helicopter around the residence the previous night and saw large numbers of security personnel.
“Many people have left (the area),” he said. “We have a lot of fear.”
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has emerged as Museveni’s strongest challenger in recent years, branding himself the “ghetto president” in reference to his upbringing in Kampala’s slum areas.
He accused the government of “massive ballot stuffing” and of attacking party officials during the internet blackout, which was imposed before voting and remained in effect on Saturday.
African election observers said they found no evidence of ballot stuffing but condemned “reports of intimidation, arrest and abductions” aimed at the opposition and civil society.
Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan said the incidents had “instilled fear and eroded public trust in the electoral process”.
Jonathan, who led observer missions from the African Union as well as regional bodies COMESA and IGAD, said the internet shutdown “disrupted effective observation” and “increased suspicion,” though voting on election day was largely “peaceful”.
Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement also recorded a strong showing in parliamentary races, according to provisional results, with ballot counting still ongoing.
Political analysts had widely predicted the outcome.
Museveni, who came to power in 1986 after a guerrilla war, maintains firm control over state institutions and security forces, and has consistently suppressed political challengers.
Another prominent opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, who contested against Museveni four times, was abducted in Kenya in 2024 and returned to Uganda to face an ongoing treason trial before a military court.
Reports also emerged of violence targeting opposition supporters during the election.
Muwanga Kivumbi, a member of parliament from Wine’s party representing Butambala in central Uganda, told AFP by phone that security forces killed 10 of his campaign agents after storming his home.
Police disputed the claim, saying an “unspecified number” of people had been “put out of action” after opposition members allegedly attempted to overrun and burn a local tally centre and police station.
(AFP)
Post A Comment: