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Uganda’s Museveni extends 35-year rule with disputed election win

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Uganda's Yoweri Museveni has won a sixth term in office, the election commission said Saturday, extending his 35-year rule after an election which his main rival said was marred by fraud.

The 76-year-old leader, who took power in 1986, is one of Africa's longest serving presidents. He was accused of crushing the opposition and media ahead of one of the most violent election campaigns in recent years.

Museveni won with 58.6 percent of the vote, seeing off a stiff battle from 38-year-old former ragga singer Bobi Wine, whose turn to politics fired up a youthful population where three quarters are under 30 years old.

Wine was under heavy guard at his home on the outskirts of Kampala as the results were announced, with his party saying he was under "effective house arrest". The government said it was merely providing him with security.

The singer-turned-MP was among 10 opposition candidates and came second with 34.8 percent of the vote.

Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi  also known as Bobi Wine  talks on the phone after talking ...
Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, talks on the phone after talking to members of the media at one of his the gates of his home in Magere, Uganda, on Friday.
Yasuyoshi CHIBA, AFP

"The electoral commission declares Yoweri Museveni... elected President of the republic of Uganda," said election commission chairman Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama.

He said turnout was 57.22 of almost 18 million registered voters.

Security forces poured into the streets of Kampala after the announcement, with one soldier atop an armoured personnel carrier urging citizens to maintain social distancing as a helicopter buzzed overhead.

Images on state television showed jubilant Museveni supporters in his home district waving flags and cheering, while soldiers in the capital helped marshall motorcycle drivers for a parade -- handing them yellow vests and Museveni posters.

Museveni, in a wide-ranging speech on state television after the announcement, thanked his supporters and said that now, "the only thing to avoid is violence".

"I think this might turn out to be the most cheating-free election since 1962," when the country achieved independence, he said.

Soldiers outside the home of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine
Soldiers outside the home of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine
Yasuyoshi CHIBA, AFP

However, the election was marked by harassment and arrests of the opposition, attacks on the media and the deaths of at least 54 people.

Wine alleged widespread fraud such as ballot box stuffing and said his party agents had in some places been beaten and chased away from polling stations.

"Whatever is being declared is a complete sham, we reject it and we dissociate ourselves with it," he said on Friday.

- 'We don't control them' -

Wine's home remained sealed off by soldiers and police on Saturday, after he told AFP Friday evening that security forces had breached the fence around it and he felt under "siege".

The army's deputy spokesman Deo Akiiki said the soldiers were there for "his own security and the security of people around him".

Presidential elections in Uganda: a clash of generations
Presidential elections in Uganda: a clash of generations
Maryam EL HAMOUCHI, AFP

However, the spokesman for Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP), Joel Ssenyonyi, told AFP Bobi Wine "is under effective house arrest".

"People are angry because their vote has been stolen. They don't need me or Bobi Wine to tell them to get angry," Ssenyonyi said. "Even we can't control them."

Disappointed at Wine's loss, 31-year-old carpenter Dennis Agaba complained that "the election was not fair".

However, 35-year-old electrician Dennis Tusiime was celebrating the result.

"My grandfather told me about the old regimes," Tusiime said. "I am very, very happy."

Security forces officers are seen during a joint patrol in a street ahead of the election results
Security forces officers are seen during a joint patrol in a street ahead of the election results
Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP

Tibor Nagy, the top US diplomat for Africa, said on Twitter that the vote was "fundamentally flawed", citing the denial of accreditation to election observers and "violence and harassment of opposition figures".

The internet has been down for four days, and government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said the measure was taken due to "abuse, misuse, disinformation, fake news with the overall objective of undermining the integrity of the electoral process including the results... and possibly to cause destabilisation".

He said the internet would be restored once the threat had passed, possibly on Monday morning.

- Odds stacked against Wine -

Museveni has ruled Uganda without pause since seizing control in 1986, when he helped to end years of tyranny under Idi Amin and Milton Obote.

Once hailed for his commitment to good governance, the former rebel leader has crushed any opposition and tweaked the constitution to allow himself to run again and again.

Museveni has warned that using violence to protest the result would amount to
Museveni has warned that using violence to protest the result would amount to "treason"
Badru KATUMBA, AFP

For many in the country, where the average age is 16 and most have known only one president, Museveni's glory days are no longer relevant or sufficient.

Wine, with his humble origins in a slum and popular songs about economic and social injustice, struck a chord with young people. But observers said the odds were stacked against him with Museveni's powerful grip on the state.

Wine's newly-formed NUP is however on track to become the main opposition party in parliament, notably winning eight of nine constituencies in the capital Kampala.

Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni has won a sixth term in office, the election commission said Saturday, extending his 35-year rule after an election which his main rival said was marred by fraud.

The 76-year-old leader, who took power in 1986, is one of Africa’s longest serving presidents. He was accused of crushing the opposition and media ahead of one of the most violent election campaigns in recent years.

Museveni won with 58.6 percent of the vote, seeing off a stiff battle from 38-year-old former ragga singer Bobi Wine, whose turn to politics fired up a youthful population where three quarters are under 30 years old.

Wine was under heavy guard at his home on the outskirts of Kampala as the results were announced, with his party saying he was under “effective house arrest”. The government said it was merely providing him with security.

The singer-turned-MP was among 10 opposition candidates and came second with 34.8 percent of the vote.

Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi  also known as Bobi Wine  talks on the phone after talking ...

Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, talks on the phone after talking to members of the media at one of his the gates of his home in Magere, Uganda, on Friday.
Yasuyoshi CHIBA, AFP

“The electoral commission declares Yoweri Museveni… elected President of the republic of Uganda,” said election commission chairman Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama.

He said turnout was 57.22 of almost 18 million registered voters.

Security forces poured into the streets of Kampala after the announcement, with one soldier atop an armoured personnel carrier urging citizens to maintain social distancing as a helicopter buzzed overhead.

Images on state television showed jubilant Museveni supporters in his home district waving flags and cheering, while soldiers in the capital helped marshall motorcycle drivers for a parade — handing them yellow vests and Museveni posters.

Museveni, in a wide-ranging speech on state television after the announcement, thanked his supporters and said that now, “the only thing to avoid is violence”.

“I think this might turn out to be the most cheating-free election since 1962,” when the country achieved independence, he said.

Soldiers outside the home of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine

Soldiers outside the home of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine
Yasuyoshi CHIBA, AFP

However, the election was marked by harassment and arrests of the opposition, attacks on the media and the deaths of at least 54 people.

Wine alleged widespread fraud such as ballot box stuffing and said his party agents had in some places been beaten and chased away from polling stations.

“Whatever is being declared is a complete sham, we reject it and we dissociate ourselves with it,” he said on Friday.

– ‘We don’t control them’ –

Wine’s home remained sealed off by soldiers and police on Saturday, after he told AFP Friday evening that security forces had breached the fence around it and he felt under “siege”.

The army’s deputy spokesman Deo Akiiki said the soldiers were there for “his own security and the security of people around him”.

Presidential elections in Uganda: a clash of generations

Presidential elections in Uganda: a clash of generations
Maryam EL HAMOUCHI, AFP

However, the spokesman for Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP), Joel Ssenyonyi, told AFP Bobi Wine “is under effective house arrest”.

“People are angry because their vote has been stolen. They don’t need me or Bobi Wine to tell them to get angry,” Ssenyonyi said. “Even we can’t control them.”

Disappointed at Wine’s loss, 31-year-old carpenter Dennis Agaba complained that “the election was not fair”.

However, 35-year-old electrician Dennis Tusiime was celebrating the result.

“My grandfather told me about the old regimes,” Tusiime said. “I am very, very happy.”

Security forces officers are seen during a joint patrol in a street ahead of the election results

Security forces officers are seen during a joint patrol in a street ahead of the election results
Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP

Tibor Nagy, the top US diplomat for Africa, said on Twitter that the vote was “fundamentally flawed”, citing the denial of accreditation to election observers and “violence and harassment of opposition figures”.

The internet has been down for four days, and government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said the measure was taken due to “abuse, misuse, disinformation, fake news with the overall objective of undermining the integrity of the electoral process including the results… and possibly to cause destabilisation”.

He said the internet would be restored once the threat had passed, possibly on Monday morning.

– Odds stacked against Wine –

Museveni has ruled Uganda without pause since seizing control in 1986, when he helped to end years of tyranny under Idi Amin and Milton Obote.

Once hailed for his commitment to good governance, the former rebel leader has crushed any opposition and tweaked the constitution to allow himself to run again and again.

Museveni has warned that using violence to protest the result would amount to

Museveni has warned that using violence to protest the result would amount to “treason”
Badru KATUMBA, AFP

For many in the country, where the average age is 16 and most have known only one president, Museveni’s glory days are no longer relevant or sufficient.

Wine, with his humble origins in a slum and popular songs about economic and social injustice, struck a chord with young people. But observers said the odds were stacked against him with Museveni’s powerful grip on the state.

Wine’s newly-formed NUP is however on track to become the main opposition party in parliament, notably winning eight of nine constituencies in the capital Kampala.

AFP
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