President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the 2021 general elections by the Uganda election commission on Saturday.
President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the 2021 general elections on Saturday the 16th by the Uganda electoral commission.
- More than 30 observers were arrested on polling day.
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Meanwhile, the Ugandan military and police surrounded the house of opposition leader and presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine.
Opposition leaders have stated they will not run in the by-elections, saying they will not live like serfs and that the results are fabricated. More than 30 observers were arrested on polling day.
More than 10 truckloads of military personnel passed by journalists camped a few meters from the Bobi Wine house, Kyagulanyi Ssentamu. Other soldiers were on foot patrol nearby.
Wine’s house was surrounded by authorities and the public, including journalists, were barred from entering and outside.
Francis Zzaake, a legislator who is a pro-wine man who has been arrested and tortured by security forces in the past, was only allowed to stop at a roadblock.
He was then pulled from his car and assaulted before being thrown into a police van.
Reporters were kept at a distance, and as the police van passed, Zzaake could be heard screaming inside. Newly elected National Unity Platform legislator Joyce Bagala told reporters what she saw.
“I followed them to find out where they were taking him because he was screaming and you could actually hear the screams,” Bagala said.
“So I followed them to the Kasangadi police station. That’s where they dropped him off. They got him out of the car, but I think he was badly beaten.”
Election Commission Chairman Simon Byabakama made the announcement before 4 p.m. Museveni won the local election on Saturday, becoming the sixth five-year president.
“Candidate Yoweri Museveni Tibuhaburwa Kaguta received the most votes in the election and the votes cast in his favour were more than 50 per cent of the valid votes cast in the election, the Election Commission declared.”
Officials said Museveni won 58.64 per cent of the total votes cast in Thursday’s vote, with 34.83 per cent of Bobi Wine. Byabakama called on Uganda, especially those who support the losers, to remain calm.
After this announcement, there was silence, empty streets and heavy security. Voter Dennis Kimbugwe said he did not believe the results released by the Election Commission.
He said he would like to follow the ballot from his location to confirm whether the person who voted won or lost. But he did not want to be heard on the radio, saying authorities had stopped the army. He is not alone. Kalibaala John Bosco said it was time for the government to get out of the election.
Bosco said the election should be banned if Museveni thinks he still wants to be president because the current practice is frustrating for the Ugandan people. He said the government does not count the votes of the people and does what it wants.
Attempts to get feedback from the ruling party failed, and party officials did not respond to media phone calls.
The U.S. embassy in Uganda has refused to look into the election following officials’ refusal to grant more than 75 per cent of its recognition requests.
The Voice Of America (VOA), DW News, Al Jazeera English also contributed to this story.
