Ugandas opposition parties cry foul over poll results

Ugandas opposition parties cry foul over poll results

President Yoweri Museveni won Uganda’s disputed presidential election on Saturday (February 20), cementing his 30-year grip on power in the East African nation despite criticism of the poll by electoral observers.

Museveni won 60.8 percent of the vote, while his main challenger Kizza Besigye secured 35.4 percent, the electoral commission chairman Badru Kiggundu said.

“Total number of votes in this election and the votes cast in his or her favour being more than 50 percent of the valid votes cast at election. The commission declares Yoweri Kaguta Museveni elected president of the Republic of Uganda at the presidential election held on 18th February 2016. This declaration is dated this 20th day of February 2016 and is going to be signed all of us as I embark on that signature,” Uganda Electoral Commission Chairman Badru Kiggundu said.

The opposition had tried to tap into mounting anger among young voters, especially in urban areas, where unemployment is high and many are frustrated by the poor state of schools and hospitals.

“Museveni has not won, the election has not been free and fair, they have brought the army here, policemen here, they are trying to threaten people and we don’t know why,” said a Kampala resident who did not give his name.

Opposition party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) had been disputing results before the final announcement, saying the poll was a “sham” and the process was manipulated.

“Generally when you read the situation you can see that president Museveni and those he’s working with basically have been, (number) one, shocked and I think also surprised because I think they thought they would manage this process in a manner that would be irregular as they have already done where they manipulate the electoral process,” said president of the FDC, Mugisha Muntu.

Besigye was arrested on Friday and appeared to be under house arrest on Saturday.

Museveni, 71, has presided over strong economic growth but faces mounting accusations at home and abroad of cracking down on dissent and failing to tackle rampant corruption in the nation of 37 million people.

Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party said the veteran leader’s victory showed “opponents failed to offer any alternative apart from empty promises”.

Muntu urged the citizens to hold together as they fought for their rights and freedoms and democratic practices that they should enjoy.

“The amount of recklessness that they apply in managing this itself shows you the extent which they may be wanting to go, however we as leaders of FDC and leaders of other opposition parties, and we believe the civil society leaders and all Ugandans as people, we are 35 million people, so scared as those who are in the regime are, as reckless as they might be, we have a country to hold together. But we also have rights and freedoms and democratic practices that we must push to ensure that we enjoy those freedoms and rights,” Muntu added.

Museveni brought calm and stability to Uganda after decades of chaos at the hands of leaders Idi Amin and Milton Obote, but many opposition voters accuse the former guerrilla fighter of becoming increasingly autocratic and wanting to rule for life.

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