By Mark Ogagan
“amssive rigging” has been alleged by the opposition as Uganda’s sitting President, Yoweri Museveni is declared winner of last Thursday’s elections, for a seventh term in office, the country’s electoral commission announced on Saturday.
This comes after a tense campaign marked by an opposition crackdown and internet blackout.
Museveni, 81, won with 71.65 percent of the vote, the commission said on Saturday.
He defeated his main challenger, 43-year-old Bobi Wine, who received 24.72 percent of the vote, according to the official results.
Museveni’s widely expected victory comes after an election campaign that the United Nations said was marred by “widespread repression and intimidation”, including a crackdown on opposition rallies.
Thursday’s election also unfolded amid a nationwide internet blackout that drew international criticism.
Bobi Wine, a singer-turned-politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had claimed on social media on Election Day that “massive ballot stuffing” was also taking place.
Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, has been accused of overseeing a years-long crackdown on his political opponents.
Yet despite that, many Ugandans still praise the longtime leader as the man who ended Uganda’s post-independence chaos and oversaw rapid economic growth in the country.
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