Uganda’s Museveni wins sixth time period, rival alleges fraud

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has scored a decisive election victory to win a sixth time period, the nation’s election fee stated on Saturday, however his major rival Bobi Wine denounced the outcomes as fraudulent and urged residents to reject them.
The 76-year-old Museveni, in energy since 1986 and one in every of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, dismissed the allegations of fraud in a night tackle to the nation, saying Thursday’s election might change into the “most cheating free” in Uganda’s historical past.
The Electoral Commission stated closing counts confirmed Museveni gained 5.85 million votes, or 58.6%, whereas Wine had 3.48 million votes (34.8%).

The marketing campaign was marked by a lethal crackdown by safety forces on Wine, different opposition candidates and their supporters. In the run-up to the vote native civil society teams and overseas governments questioned its credibility and transparency, after scores of requests for accreditation to observe the election had been denied.
The United States and an African election monitoring group complained of election irregularities.
Britain stated it was involved by a nationwide web shutdown that started the day earlier than the vote, and that it stated constrained freedoms and “clearly limited the transparency of the elections”. In a press release, British Minister for Africa James Duddridge additionally known as for issues concerning the election course of to be investigated.

Wine, a 38-year-old singer-turned-lawmaker who had rallied younger Ugandans behind his name for political change, known as the outcomes a “complete fraud”.
“It’s an election that was taken over by the military and the police,” he stated in a cellphone interview from inside his house within the capital, Kampala, which was surrounded by troopers who he stated had forbidden him from leaving.
“It further exposes how dictatorial the Museveni regime is,” added Wine, who campaigned to finish what he known as widespread corruption. “It’s a mockery of democracy.”
Army deputy spokesman Deo Akiiki instructed Reuters that safety officers at Wine’s home had been assessing threats he may face: “So they might be preventing him in the interest of his own safety.”
Museveni argued within the marketing campaign that his lengthy expertise makes him a great chief and promised to maintain delivering stability and progress.
Wearing his signature hat and talking from his rural house on Saturday night, Museveni criticised “the elite” for issues with the nationwide training and well being techniques and famous that Uganda has surplus provides of sugar, milk and maize.
Reprising a well-known chorus, he stated he’s not in authorities to get pleasure from a great life, which he has as a farmer, however relatively to deal with historic challenges.

The authorities banned all social media and messaging apps on Tuesday. On Wednesday it ordered the web shut off and has not but restored it.
‘THEY WILL KILL US’
After the outcomes had been introduced, many neighbourhoods in usually bustling Kampala had been unusually quiet as dusk approached. Soldiers and police who had patrolled all through the day remained on the streets in massive numbers, witnesses stated.
“These gunmen are all over and they are ready to kill,” stated Innocent Mutambi, 26, a welder. “I am sure what they announced is false, but right now we can’t take them on, they will kill us.”

Hundreds of the president’s supporters rode bikes from the election tallying centre to downtown, the place individuals danced with posters bearing the president’s face.
Wine, whose actual title is Robert Kyagulanyi, has stated he has video proof of voting fraud that he’ll share as soon as web connections are restored.