On Saturday, Uganda’s election commission declared incumbent Yoweri Museveni the presidential election winner, extending his 35-year reign as his key challenger suspected fraud and urging people to reject the outcome.
In a televised news conference, Museveni won 5.85 million votes or 58.64 percent of the total, while main opposition candidate Bobi Wine won 3.48 million votes or 34.83 percent, the electoral commission said.
“The electoral commission declares Yoweri Museveni … elected president of the republic of Uganda,” said Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, Chairman of the Electoral Commission.
With his calls for political reform, Bobi Wine, 38, has galvanized young Ugandans and vowed to end what he calls tyranny and systemic corruption.
On Saturday, security workers and police were out in force patrolling the capital, Kampala. The day before the election, the government forced the internet to shut down, and a blackout was still in place.
Museveni, 76, campaigned for another term, claiming that his long office experience made him a strong leader while promising to continue to bring peace and growth.
On Friday, Bobi Wine, a singer-turned-lawmaker whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said he had video evidence of voting fraud and would share the videos as soon as internet links were restored.
Byabakama said the presumption of proof rested with Bobi Wine under Ugandan rule.
On Saturday, security forces had sealed off a wide perimeter around the sprawling compound of Bobi Wine and told foreign journalists that they were not allowed to enter, witnesses said.
According to Al Jazeera, Bobi Wine accused Museveni of manufacturing the figures and called the poll “the most fraudulent election in the history of Uganda”.
