NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 16 — Uganda’s main opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has accused authorities of widespread electoral malpractice, including “massive ballot stuffing,” amid an internet shutdown.
Wine also alleged arrests of opposition leaders, and intimidation of polling agents, as Ugandans voted in a tense general election on Thursday.
In a series of social media posts, Wine said the shutdown had plunged the country “into darkness” and was being used to shield alleged abuses from public scrutiny.
“Uganda is in the dark with the internet shut down. Several incidents of ballot stuffing have been recorded. The regime’s military and police are directly involved in repressing our agents at polling stations,” he said.
“On top of abductions, the regime forces are targeting our leaders across the country. The world needs to know what is happening in Uganda on election day.”
He further claimed that the National Unity Platform (NUP) Deputy President for the Western Region had been arrested, while many polling agents and supervisors were abducted or chased away from polling stations.
“Massive ballot stuffing reported everywhere. Our leaders arrested. Many of our polling agents abducted, and others chased off polling stations. BVVK machines have failed everywhere,” he said, calling on Ugandans to reject what he termed a “criminal regime” and urging the international community not to legitimize the process.
Election technology failure
Thursday’s election was marred by technical setbacks after biometric voter verification (BVVK) machines malfunctioned in several parts of the country, delaying voting by hours.
Uganda’s Electoral Commission said it had temporarily suspended biometric verification in affected areas and authorized the use of manual voter registers to prevent voter disenfranchisement.
“The commission hereby directs all returning officers that where a BVR kit fails to start or to function, the voting process should commence immediately using the national voters register in accordance with the electoral laws and guidelines,” the commission said in a statement.
The poll body added that its technical teams were responding to the challenges as they arose.
President Yoweri Museveni, Africa’s longest-serving leader and the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, said he had ordered investigations into the failure of the biometric system after it reportedly failed to recognize his thumbprint at his polling station.
Museveni was eventually cleared to vote using facial recognition.
“First of all it did not accept my fingerprints because maybe when they took them they had a different angle. But when they put my face, you saw the machine recognized me,” Museveni told journalists after voting.
’80 per cent win’
Seeking a seventh term in office, Museveni said he expected a landslide victory if the process was free of fraud.
“If there is no cheating, I expect to win by 80 per cent. That is why we have to stop ballot stuffing,” he said.
Uganda has 21.7 million registered voters spread across 50,739 polling stations, choosing among six presidential candidates to lead the country for the next five years.
The contest pits Museveni, who has ruled since 1986 and presents himself as the guarantor of stability, against Bobi Wine, a former pop star-turned-politician who has galvanized the country’s youthful population with promises to fight corruption and push sweeping reforms.
Voters are also electing a new Parliament, including 353 constituency MPs, 146 district woman representatives, and numerous local government leaders.
The election took place amid a nationwide suspension of internet access ordered ahead of polling day.
The Uganda Communications Commission said the measure was necessary to prevent misinformation, fraud, and the incitement of violence.
Opposition leaders and civil society groups, however, say the blackout has restricted transparency and limited the ability of observers and citizens to report irregularities.
Results of the presidential election are expected to be announced within 48 hours after polls closed.
