Incumbent Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has taken a big early lead as the election vote count heats up. Mr. Museveni is seeking his sixth term in office as the president of Uganda. This time round, president Museveni is facing popstar Bobi Wine whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi.
According to the Uganda Electoral Commission, Mr. Museveni has so far garnered 65% percent of the vote (1,536,205) while his chief rival Mr. Robert Kyagulanyi has 27.39% (647,146) votes. The results are from 8,310 polling stations.
Countrywide, Uganda has a total of 34,674 polling stations. It is not clear where the already counted results comes from in terms of Mr. Museveni’s stronghold or his main rival’s. However, Bobi Wine has alleged widespread rigging and violence during the voting exercise on Thursday, although he did not provide any substantive evidence. But the Ugandan government countered that by saying that the 2021 election was peaceful.
By the time of writing this article, president Yoweri Museveni, who has lead the East African country of nearly 46 million people for 35 years has not made any statement regarding the election results.
But Bobi Wine dismissed the results showing him trailing the veteran Ugandan president. Mr. Wine dismissed the electoral commission’s results saying that Wine’s camp is in the race to win.
“The results the EC boss Simon Byabakama puts out are his business. We are in this to win,” Bobi Wine told the press in Magere, Wakiso District, shortly after voting.
On Wednesday, the government ordered an internet blackout until further notice, a day after banning all social media and messaging apps such as Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter.
The election campaign was marred by deadly crackdowns by security forces on opposition candidates and their supporters.
Uganda went into elections still in the aftershock of deadly November 18/19 protests that claimed over 50 people following the arrest of Bobi Wine in the eastern district Luuka District. The protests exposed Uganda’s electoral violence and scores of people have gone on to die with thousands of opposition supporters in detention.
The 2021 presidential election is largely seen by opposition figures as a crucial ‘revolution and referenda vote’ on whether Mr Museveni who has been in power since 1986 can extend his rule to four decades or not.
“This election is significant for a country that has to be set free from a reckless regime,” ANT presidential candidate, Gen Mugisha Muntu said.
According to the local newspaper, The Daily Monitor, Yoweri Museveni is expected to win the 2021 presidential election which will enable him to have led Uganda for four decades.
Check back often for more updates from Uganda.
