Showdown looms as Besigye plans peaceful demo to protest Musevenis win

A showdown looms in Uganda’s capital city as Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate, Kizza Besigye, heads to the Electoral Commission (EC) headquarters to pick the official poll results.

The four-time presidential contender has announced plans to hold a peaceful demonstration to protest the alleged rigging of polls, adding that he will file a suit to challenge Yoweri Museveni’s win.

On Friday, the poll body declared Museveni the winner of the February 18 polls after he garnered 5,617,503 votes to Besigye’s 3, 270, 290.

Opposition leaders have, however, disputed the win saying that the polling process was marred by rigging, voter intimidation and bribery.

In a statement to newsrooms, Besigye – who was Museveni’s fiercest challenger –, discredited the electoral body saying that the EC was biased.

“The Electoral Commission is not independent and its technical incompetence and partisanship has been made clear for all to see. The voting material was not delivered in time. People were unlawfully removed from the Voters’ Register whilst ghosts were wantonly added,” read the statement in part.

The opposition leader, who served as Museveni’s personal doctor when they were guerilla fighters, was detained numerous times in the run-up to the elections – arrests that his supporters were quick to pin on the 71-year-old president.

Addressing the arrests, the former military doctor stated, “Freedoms of assembly and expression were wantonly curbed. We were not free to carry out our campaigns without intimidation and interference from the partisan Uganda Police Force and the NRM’s militia dubbed the Crime Preventers.”

Fellow presidential contender and former Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, echoed Besigye’s sentiments adding that the electoral process was “fundamentally flawed”.

The United States has also criticised the handling of the General Elections, saying that reports of electoral irregularities were “deeply inconsistent with international standards and expectations for any democratic process”.

Conflicting reports by poll observers

European Union (EU) poll observers expressed concern over the independence of the Ugandan poll body and the fairness of the poll process.

“The lack of transparency and independence of the Electoral Commission (EC), and its markedly late delivery of voting material on election day to several districts considered opposition strongholds – most notably in Kampala, decreased the opportunity for voters to cast their ballots.

The Head of EU delegation Jo Leinen decried the harassment and intimidation of the opposition, citing the numerous arrests of FDC’s Besigye. He also noted that there were cases of voter bribery and voter intimidation.

“National Resistance Movement’s (NRM’s) domination of the political landscape distorted the fairness of the campaign and state actors were instrumental in creating an intimidating atmosphere for both voters and candidates,” read the statement in part.

In their preliminary report, EU poll observers noted that the opposition –particularly Besigye’s FDC – was harassed by state bodies.

“Intimidation and harassment of opposition by police and law enforcement bodies, as well as arrests of supporters and voters were reported from more than 20 districts. Opposition candidates’ ability to campaign freely was restricted on several instances during the campaign period,” read the report in part.