Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was placed under house arrest on Friday, a day after general elections that early results indicate President Yoweri Museveni is poised to extend his decades-long grip on power. According to provisional results released by the Electoral Commission, Museveni was leading with 76.25 per cent of the vote, while Wine trailed at 19.85 per cent, with about a quarter of ballots counted. Final results from the presidential and parliamentary elections are expected by 0200 GMT on Saturday.
Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, is seeking to prolong his nearly 40-year rule amid criticism from rights groups and opposition leaders, who accuse his administration of widespread repression in the lead-up to the vote. The government also enforced an internet shutdown earlier this week, limiting communication and election monitoring.
Thursday’s voting was disrupted by major logistical failures, including malfunctioning biometric voter identification machines and delayed delivery of ballot papers in several parts of the country, leaving voters stranded for hours. Wine, 43, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has become Museveni’s most prominent challenger in recent years. A former pop star turned politician, he is popularly known as the “ghetto president,” a reference to his upbringing in Kampala’s informal settlements. Late Thursday, Wine’s party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), said security forces had surrounded his residence, effectively confining him and his wife.
AFP journalists who visited the residence on Friday reported a calm atmosphere, although police officers and a military vehicle were stationed outside the compound. Across the country, security deployment remained heavy throughout election day. The United Nations human rights office had earlier warned that the polls were being conducted in an environment characterised by intimidation, arrests and repression of opposition figures. Wine accused the government of massive electoral fraud, including ballot stuffing, and claimed several of his party officials were attacked during the voting process. These allegations could not be independently verified.
