Uganda Elections: Museveni Takes Leads Bobi Wine Cries Foul

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has a clear lead in the presidential race following Thursday’s vote, official preliminary results in the elections show.

But his main challenger, pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, said that tally was the result of the worst rigging in Ugandan electoral history.

Election monitors say confidence in the count has been damaged by an internet shutdown, now in its third day.

Dozens of people were killed in the run-up to the election.

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President Museveni, who has been in power for 35 years, is hoping for a sixth term.

The 76-year-old says he is standing for stability, while Bobi Wine, the stage name for 38-year-old Robert Kyagulanyi, says he represents the younger generation is one of the world’s youngest countries.

With 49.1% of ballots counted, Mr. Museveni has won 62.7% of the vote compared to Bobi Wine with 29.3%, the electoral commission says.

Election commission chief Simon Byabakama said the vote had been peaceful, and told Bobi Wine, who said some of his polling agents were arrested on Thursday, to make public the evidence for his fraud allegations.

The opposition candidate believes the internet shutdown is being used to block communication and as a way of compromising the vote.

As well as being unable to get online, people have been having trouble sending text messages.

‘Several of our phone numbers, including mine and my wife’s, have been switched off, have disconnected illegally,” the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.

‘I will be happy to share the videos of all the fraud and irregularities as soon as the internet is restored.’