Uganda’s incumbent president, Yoweri Museveni, has won the election, election officials say Saturday. Opposition leader Bobi Wine rejects the result and speaks of large-scale fraud.
Dictator Museveni (76) has been in power in the African country for 35 years. He would have received 58.6 percent of the vote; 34.8 percent of the vote went to Wine.
According to Wine, who is actually called Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, the fraud can be seen in videos. However, he cannot share this, because the government decided to shut down the internet in the country the day before the elections.
On Friday afternoon, the army raided Wine’s house, the presidential candidate himself said via Twitter. With journalists on the scene, the situation in and around Wine’s house would ultimately not have escalated. Wine says in telephone interviews on Saturday that he is de facto under house arrest: no one is allowed to enter or leave his house.
The United States, the EU and the UN have already expressed their concerns about the polls. The African Union is the only international organization that has sent observers.
The run-up to the elections has been violent. After Wine was arrested during his campaign, massive protests arose. Rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas were used to break up these protests, but live ammunition was also used. More than fifty people died.
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