Following months of allegations surrounding opposition suppression, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, has been re-elected for a sixth term in a vote the opposition has described as ‘rigged.’
Museveni, who has been in power for more than three decades went toe-to-toe with the people’s favourite and main opposition rival, a singer turned politician, Bobi Wine, on Thursday the 14th of January 2021. In the run-up to the elections, protests against Museveni’s leadership and seemingly targeted attacks against Bobi Wine resulted in the death of over 50 Ugandans with 45 losing their lives as recently as November 2020.
What The Results Said
According to Uganda’s electoral commission, Museveni, in a landslide win, recorded more than 5.8 million votes (58.64 percent), while Wine barely trailed the incumbent president with just 3.4 million votes (34.83 percent). The commission also acknowledged a low turnout of voters with just under 10 million people showing up at the polls despite the country’s registered voting population of 18.1 million and a total population of 45 million.
Museveni Celebrates Victory
Reacting to his announced victory, President Museveni made a victory speech on Saturday evening, stating that he accepted the results and the election process was, contrary to popular opinion, free and fair.
“I think this may turn out to be the most ‘cheating-free’ election since 1962,” he said, referring to the country’s very first polls “And I’m told that some people were maybe disabling the machines so that they allowed the cheating. But I’m told the machines were rectified and in many cases, people voted by the machines.”
Opposition Under Siege But Prepared To Fight Back
Speaking to CNN about the recently announced results, Wine revealed that his team was dedicated to finding peaceful, nonviolent, and legal ways to challenge the results which he believes to have been “fabricated” by President Museveni.
“We are the real winners of this election and therefore what the electoral commission announced has nothing to do with the real election that took place,” he said. “I can call on all Ugandans to reject the announcement that has been made by the electoral commission … to reject them with the contempt with which it deserves.”
Wine also shared that he and his family have been “under siege” by Museveni-controlled security forces who have kept them holed up since polls opened on Thursday. With no access to the internet and limited phone usage, Wine’s forceful removal from the outside world is not the first time the presidential hopeful’s rights have been trampled on.
How Transparent Was The Election?
While Museveni described the election as free and fair, there have been several allegations from observers that point to the contrary.
Bobi Wine claims that his chosen election monitoring agents were denied access to polling centres despite the constitution allowing for candidates to send in representatives. Similarly, the United States’ Mission in Uganda said 75 percent of its accreditation requests had been denied, pushing it to cancel its observation of the vote.
Another issue at hand is the internet shutdown in Uganda leading up to the election. A decision that Wine, himself, claims to be a tactic at stifling opposition and covering up fraudulent election activities. “We have our evidence, but they are keeping the internet shut down so that we don’t communicate it to the world,” he said, of the internet blackout that began days before the Jan. 14 election. “We won,” he added.
