Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has taken a strong lead in provisional results from Thursday's presidential election, according to the electoral agency. The results announced on Friday morning show Museveni in the lead with 76% of the votes counted from 45% of the country's polling stations. He is followed by opposition leader Bobi Wine, who has garnered about 20%.
Voting took place under tense conditions following a campaign marked by violence, with Museveni, 81, vying for his seventh term in office. Wine, a pop star-turned-politician, has alleged 'massive' fraud occurred during the election amid an internet blackout. Despite his claims, he has not presented documentary proof, and authorities have yet to respond to his accusations.
Late on election day, Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP) party reported that military and police forces surrounded his home in Kampala, effectively placing him under house arrest. They alleged that security officers unlawfully entered his property.
This election has been marred by irregularities, including delays in voting as ballot boxes were slow to arrive and biometric verification machines malfunctioned. Some observers have linked these issues to the internet outage that was enforced before the election.
Following the 2021 election, in which Wine received 35% of the vote, he was also placed under house arrest for several days by security forces.
