Yoweri Museveni has been declared the winner of the Uganda presidential election with 58.64% of the total votes, according to the country’s electoral commission.
The incumbent will now serve a sixth term as president of the east African nation following some of the worst pre-election violence since the 76-year-old took office in 1986.
His main opposition, singer Bobi Wine, has alleged vote-rigging throughout the process and had strong support in urban centres where frustration with unemployment and corruption remains high. He won 3.48 million votes, or 34.8% of the total, according to the commission.
Mr Wine and other opposition candidates were often harassed, and more than 50 people were killed when security forces halted riots in November after he was arrested.
Although Mr Museveni holds on to power, at least 15 of his cabinet ministers including the vice president Edward Ssekandi were voted out, with many losing to candidates from Mr Wine’s party, according to local media.Advertisement
Mr Wine, real name Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, claimed victory on Friday and said he had video evidence of vote-rigging and insisted “every legal option is on the table” to challenge the election results.
He was beaten up and arrested several times during the election campaign but was never convicted of any charge. He later wore a flak jacket and said he feared for his life.
On Saturday, Mr Wine said his home in the capital Kampala had been surrounded by soldiers and the military was now allowing him to leave.
He has also claimed to have video evidence of voting fraud, which he says he will share as soon as internet connections are restored in the country. The government ordered the internet to be shut down the day before the election on Thursday, and that blackout remains in place.
The army’s deputy spokesman, Deo Akiiki, told Reuters security officers were assessing threats to Mr Wine if left his home.
Monitoring of the elections has been hit by the arrest of independent observers and the denial of accreditation for members of the UN observer mission.
Tibor Nagy, the top US diplomat for Africa, tweeted on Saturday that “Uganda’s electoral process has been fundamentally flawed”, adding that the “US response hinges on what the Ugandan government does now”.
Ugandan media has reported that 56 candidates from Mr Wine’s National Unity Platform has won seats in the parliamentary election. The Forum for Democratic Change, previously the largest opposition party, has so far won 34.