Nation tallies votes as Wine slams ‘fraud and violence’
Uganda’s opposition leader Bobi Wine said the country’s election had seen “widespread fraud and violence”, as votes trickled in yesterday under an internet blackout.
The 38-year-old former popstarturned-MP did not give details about his accusations, which contradicted the government’s account that Thursday’s vote had been largely peaceful.
The internet remained down for a third day as vote counting continued, with provisional results from 24% of polling stations giving President Yoweri Museveni an early lead of 65% while Mr Wine trailed with 27%. Full results are expected by today.
The capital Kampala was quiet and some businesses remained closed, while soldiers and police patrolled on foot the day after the election.
Mr Museveni is seeking a sixth term in office, having ruled for almost four decades, and his main rival among 10 opposition candidates is Mr Wine, whose popularity among a youthful population has rattled the former rebel leader.
Voting in Kampala took place under the oppressive security presence of soldiers and riot police in the streets and at polling stations.
The election followed of the most violent campaigns in years, with harassment and arrests of the opposition, attacks on the media and scores of deaths.
However, election commission chief Simon Mugenyi Byabakama said the vote had gone off in a “peaceful and tranquil manner”, while police spokesman Fred Enanga said there had been “no major cases of violence reported.”
But a senior foreign diplomat told AFP there had been sporadic incidents of violence and many irregularities but no sign of mass manipulation.
The United States, European Union, United Nations and rights groups have raised concerns about the integrity and transparency of the election.
Only the African Union (AU) has sent monitors to observe the election.
On Wednesday, the US, a major aid donor to Uganda, announced it was cancelling a diplomatic observer mission after too many of its staff were denied permission to monitor the election.
Mr Wine has vowed non-violent street protests should Ugandans feel the election was stolen, while Mr Museveni has warned that using violence to protest the result would amount to “treason”.
The 76-year-old — one of Africa’s longest serving leaders — has never lost an election and observers expect this time around will be no different.