Uganda’s Museveni tightens grip on president race with half of vote counted in violent election

Bloomberg

20 Feb 2016 12:32

UGANDA’S Yoweri Museveni is on track to extend his 30-year rule on Saturday after winning 61% of the presidential vote at an early stage of the count.

Main opposition leader Kizza Besigye had a 35% share after about 8 million votes were tallied, or just over half the 15.3 million registered to take part, Electoral Commission Chairman Badru Kiggundu told reporters in the capital, Kampala.

The result is expected to be announced by 4 p.m. local time.

Museveni, 71, has ruled Africa’s biggest coffee exporter since 1986. Besigye, who’s lost to Museveni in three previous elections, is one of seven candidates challenging him. Uganda’s handling of the elections has been called into question by the European Union and Human Rights Watch after Besigye was arrested on accusations he plans to announce his own vote tally. 

Opponent under house arrest

Besigye is being prevented from leaving his house or receiving visitors, his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party said on its Twitter account.

Besigye who has been arrested many times in the past, was detained three times this week.

Ugandan authorities created an atmosphere of intimidation in the run up to and during Thursday’s vote, while the country’s electoral commission lacks independence and the trust of the people, the European Union’s chief observer, Eduard Kukan, told reporters in Kampala.

He described Friday’s arrest of Besigye at his party headquarters as “unacceptable” and said the authorities’ block of some social media had curbed freedom of expression.

Uganda has no legal means to ensure a level playing field for the elections, Kukan said.

In the capital Kampala, Thursday’s elections were disrupted by the late arrival of polling materials, angry demonstrations by frustrated voters, police use of tear gas.

As a result dozens of polling stations in Uganda were forced to open for a second day on Friday.

“Excessive use of force”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Uganda’s handling of elections “raises serious questions” about whether they have been conducted in a free and fair manner.

In the run-up to the Thursday vote, barriers to freedom of expression, assembly and association and excessive use of force were documented, the New York-based advocacy group said in an e-mailed statement on Saturday from the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

 “The next few days will be critical, as people will surely scrutinise the election process,” Maria Burnett, HRW’s senior Africa researcher, said in the statement. “Security forces should respect peaceful protest and use only proportionate force in response to any confrontations.”

Ugandan police Friday stormed Besigye’s FDC offices in the capital, arresting him with other senior party officials and cracking down on protestors.

-Bloomberg