Museveni Wins Fifth Term, As Opposition Calls For Polls Auditing

Even as his main rival remains under house arrest, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has won a fifth term as president, extending his 30 years in office.

In a statement signed by the chairperson of Ugandan Electoral Commission, Dr. Badru M. Kiggundu, four electoral commissioners and the secretary of the commission, Mr. Sam Rwakdojo, the 71-year-old incumbent won 60.75 percent of the vote while his nearest rival Dr. Kifefe Kizza Besigye took 35 percent in the election held on Friday.

Main opposition leader, Besigye has remained under house arrest since Friday over allegations of trying to announce election results before the official declaration and intention to incite violence. The Guardian gathered that Kizza (as he is popularly called in Uganda) also has all internet and communication networks to his residence interrupted.

According to official figures, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate polled 3, 270, 290 as against Museveni’s 5, 617, 503.

Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, speaking through her tweeter handle from an undisclosed location, said her husband rejected the result and has called for the intervention of the international observer, alleging that the election was fraught with irregularities and cooking of votes. According to her, the FDC candidate is calling for auditing of the votes by the international community. “We have just witnessed what must be the most fraudulent electoral process in Uganda,” he said in a statement.

Amidst uneasy calm in the capital, Kampala, Museveni’s supporters said his opponents had failed to offer any chance of progress. The President’s support base is more in the rural areas, where access to information is limited.