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NAIROBI, Kenya – Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has won a sixth term, the country’s electoral commission said on Saturday, after a campaign marred by a deadly crackdown on the opposition, an internet blackout and accusations of tampering and rigging of votes.
The result gives Museveni, who came to power in 1986 and one of Africa’s oldest leaders, a new five-year term. It also ends a bitter and bloody campaign for his opponents – especially his main rival, musician-turned-lawmaker Bobi Wine.
Mr. Wine was beaten and bruised, his entire campaign team was arrested, and his home was surrounded and raped by the military. Mr Wine disputed the results on Saturday, saying Mr Museveni’s government had “manufactured” them.
“We have rejected what they broadcast,” he said in a telephone interview from Kampala, the capital. “We have our proofs, but they keep the internet closed so that we don’t share it with the world,” he said of the blackout that began the day before the January 14 election. “We won,” he added.
Under Mr Museveni’s leadership, Uganda has proven to be a close Western military ally in East Africa, with troops serving as peacekeepers in Somalia, where authorities have long been fighting the group linked to Qaeda al Shabab. Ugandan recruits also served as private security guards and worked closely with US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Museveni’s deep political and military ties to the West have protected him for years from direct criticism, even as human rights groups criticized his crackdown on pro-democracy movements.
The electoral commission said Mr Museveni received more than 5.8 million votes, or 58.6% of the total vote, while Mr Wine received 3.4 million votes, or more than 34% of the vote. total votes. There were 18.1 million registered voters out of a population of about 45 million.
Although Ugandan opposition candidates have faced repressions in the past, “the gag order of this election was unprecedented,” said Su Muhereza, a Ugandan political commentator. “There was only so much that a man like Bobi could do against the machine” of what she called “the security state”.
Mr. Museveni came to power as the head of a revolutionary movement 35 years ago, promising to defend democracy, save the lives of Ugandans in a nation torn apart by coups and violence, and lamenting the corruption and greed that have kept African leaders from fulfilling their people. aspirations.
At the time, he and his cadres “saw themselves as essential leaders, not only in the politics of the country, but in a whole new national culture,” said Derek R. Peterson, professor of history and studies. African Studies at the University of Michigan.
But over time, Mr. Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement tightened their grip on power by abusing public funds, employing favoritism, using state institutions to persecute leaders of the state. opposition and deploying security forces to intimidate civil society groups and the media.
As his power grew stronger, Mr. Museveni and members of his government became more and more convinced that only they had “the right to authorize the fate of Uganda,” said Mr. Peterson. .
“Where he was once a young fire killer,” said Mr. Peterson, Mr. Museveni “now speaks as an elder, reminding his people of the virtues of the ancient culture, demanding deference, excoriating decadence young people.
In Thursday’s vote, these young Ugandans were represented by Mr Wine, a 38-year-old rapper turned lawmaker who has issued the biggest challenge to Mr Museveni’s reign to date. Mr Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi, called on Mr Museveni to step down and highlighted corruption, chronic unemployment and poor public services across the East African nation.
Authorities responded by arresting Mr Wine – including the day he applied in November – and accused him of violating restrictions to control the coronavirus pandemic.
The arrest of Mr Wine and other opposition figures sparked nationwide protests that resulted in the deaths of at least 54 people as security forces disperse protesters. As the campaign heated up at the end of last year, Museveni accused the opposition of being backed by foreign “agents” and “homosexuals” and said wanted to start an “insurrection” that would wreak havoc across the country.
Citing government abuses, Mr. Wine filed a case in early January with the International Criminal Court against Mr. Museveni and nine senior security officials, accusing them of attempted murder and human rights violations.
On Saturday Mr Wine struck a provocative note, vowing to challenge the results in court and show the world he was the rightful winner.
Local and foreign election observers questioned the validity and transparency of the vote after being prevented from monitoring it for lack of accreditation. The US mission in Uganda said 75% of its accreditation requests had been refused, prompting it to reverse its observation of the vote.
A report viewed by the New York Times, which received input from 2,000 observers from the Africa Elections Watch coalition deployed in 146 districts across the country, documented late openings at most polling stations, incidents of illegally opened ballot boxes and the arrest of 26 members of civil society. groups that observed elections.
Mr Wine said that between 50 and 60 military officers still surrounded his seven-acre property and prevented people from leaving or entering his home.
“The government is doing this to intimidate me, to make sure I don’t talk to the world,” he said, adding that he hoped the international community would stand up for the Ugandans. “I’m happy that the world can see Museveni for who he is.”
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