By Desmond Nleya
Kampala, Uganda — Vote counting began across Uganda on Thursday evening after polls closed following a tense and chaotic presidential election conducted under a nationwide internet blackout and marked by long delays and technical failures.
The election comes as President Yoweri Museveni, 81, seeks to extend his four decades in power. Museveni, who came to office in 1986 after leading a rebel movement, is widely expected to secure a seventh term, aided by his firm grip on state institutions and the security apparatus.
In parts of Kampala, particularly opposition strongholds, scenes of celebration erupted as crowds gathered inside a stadium to watch ballots being counted. Loud cheers accompanied the reading of votes for the main opposition candidate, pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine. The 43-year-old, who calls himself the “ghetto president” in reference to his upbringing in Kampala’s slums, has emerged as Museveni’s strongest challenger.
However, Wine accused the government of orchestrating widespread electoral fraud, including ballot-stuffing and the arrest of his party officials during the internet shutdown imposed earlier this week. He said delays in voting — caused by late delivery of ballot boxes and malfunctioning biometric voter identification machines — created conditions for manipulation.
“We are holding elections in the dark,” Wine said after voting. “This is done to facilitate the intended rigging of the regime.” He urged Ugandans to resist what he described as an unfair process.
Despite the tensions, election day passed largely without violence. The Ugandan Red Cross, which deployed observers nationwide, reported no major security incidents. Authorities maintained a heavy police and military presence, seeking to prevent unrest similar to recent protests in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania.
President Museveni himself acknowledged problems with the voting machines after experiencing difficulties while casting his ballot. “I put my right thumbprint. The machine did not accept it. I put my left, it did not accept it,” he told journalists, adding that facial recognition eventually allowed him to vote. He pledged that the technical issues would be investigated.
Human rights groups have raised serious concerns about the election environment. Hundreds of Bobi Wine’s supporters were arrested in the weeks leading up to the vote, and the opposition leader wore a flak jacket at campaign rallies, describing the election as a “war” against what he called a “military dictatorship.”
Human Rights Watch condemned the government’s suspension of 10 non-governmental organisations, including election monitors, ahead of the vote. While authorities defended the internet shutdown as a measure to prevent misinformation and incitement, the United Nations described the move as “deeply worrying.”
Another prominent opposition figure, veteran politician Kizza Besigye, remains on trial for treason after being abducted in Kenya in 2024 and returned to Uganda to face a military court.
Museveni continues to enjoy support among segments of the population who credit him with restoring stability after years of post-independence turmoil and overseeing periods of economic growth, despite persistent corruption scandals.
“Peace and security in the country is very good. The party is well organised,” said Angee Abraham Lincoln, a Museveni supporter in Kampala.
Internationally, Western governments have often tolerated Museveni’s long rule, citing his implementation of economic reforms in the 1980s and his role as a key ally in the US-led war on terror, including troop deployments to Somalia.
Official election results are expected within 48 hours.
