Incumbent President Museveni takes strong lead in Uganda election count

Museveni is credited with 76 percent successful aboriginal results; unit reported with hostile Bobi Wine nether location arrest.

President Yoweri Museveni was reported to clasp a commanding pb arsenic officials conducted a ballot number successful Uganda’s elections.

Based connected tallies from astir fractional of polling stations, Uganda’s Electoral Commission reported connected Friday that the longstanding ruler of the Central African federation had taken 76.25 percent of the vote.

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Meanwhile, Museveni’s main challenger, popular star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, had gained conscionable 19.85 percent, and was nether location arrest, according to his party, arsenic reports of unit began to emerge.

The remaining votes were divided among six ‍other candidates, the Electoral Commission said.

Museveni, who has held bureau since 1986, ⁠told reporters aft casting his ballot connected Thursday, that helium expected to triumph with 80 percent of the ballot “if there’s nary cheating”. Victory would manus the erstwhile rebel person a seventh word successful office.

Wine, whose ineligible sanction is Robert Kyagulanyi, has alleged monolithic fraud during the election, which was held nether an internet blackout, provoking disapproval from planetary institutions.

His National Unity ​Platform (NUP) enactment wrote connected its X relationship precocious connected Thursday that ‌the subject and constabulary had surrounded Wine’s location successful the capital, Kampala, “effectively placing him nether location arrest”.

Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told the Reuters quality bureau that helium was not alert of Wine being placed nether location arrest.

‘Repression and intimidation’

The United Nations quality rights bureau said past week that the predetermination was being held successful an situation of “widespread repression and intimidation”.

During the campaign, Wine’s rallies were repeatedly interrupted by information forces firing ‍tear state and bullets, sidesplitting astatine slightest 1 ‌person and arresting hundreds. The authorities said they were responding to lawless behaviour.

The ballot was besides plagued by wide delays arsenic immoderate polling stations remained closed for up to 4 hours aft the scheduled 7am [04:00 GMT] commencement clip owed to “technical challenges”.

Recent governmental unit successful neighbouring Tanzania and Kenya has amplified fears astir unrest successful Uganda, which has not witnessed a peaceful transportation of statesmanlike powerfulness since independency from British assemblage regularisation six decades ago.

Museveni has served the third-longest word of immoderate African leader.

Wine had called connected his supporters during Thursday’s voting to protest.

There were nary signs of demonstrations during voting hours, but unit was reported to person breached retired overnight successful the municipality of Butambala, astir 55km (35 miles) southwest of Kampala.

Agather Atuhaire, a salient quality rights activist, said soldiers and constabulary had killed astatine slightest 10 absorption supporters who had gathered astatine the location of parliamentarian Muwanga Kivumbi to travel the aboriginal results.

A section constabulary spokesperson disputed that account, telling Reuters that absorption “goons” organised by Kivumbi had attacked a constabulary presumption carrying machetes, axes and boxes of matches.

The constabulary had fired successful self-defence and determination were deaths and injuries, she said.