Museveni Declared Winner of Uganda Vote as Opposition Cries Foul
(Bloomberg) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of elections that the main opposition said were marred by rigging from the outset, extending his four-decade rule.
The incumbent garnered nearly 72% of the votes cast on Jan. 15, and musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine about 25%, tallies release by Simon Byabakama, the Electoral Commission’s chairman, in the capital, Kampala, on Saturday show. About 52% of the nearly 22 million registered voters cast ballots.
The octogenarian’s victory comes ahead of an anticipated oil boom, with French oil major TotalEnergies SE and China’s Cnooc Ltd. expected to start production from their Ugandan fields in October. The government expects the economy to grow seven-fold to $500 billion by 2040, catapulting it into the ranks of high middle-income countries.
Museveni seized power in a coup in 1986 and his ruling National Resistance Movement party, which dominates parliament, has enabled him to retain office by changing the constitution several times to remove age and term limits. He secured a sixth term in the last elections in 2021, winning almost 60% of the vote.
Wine, 43, has accused the authorities of disrupting his rallies, detaining and harassing his supporters. The allegations of foul play were substantiated by rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The police said only those who had broken the law were arrested, while the Electoral Commission said the vote was conducted within the required legislative framework.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said he’d escaped a police and military raid on his home late Friday. His family were under house arrest, he said in a statement on social media.
Internet Shutdown
A nationwide internet shutdown was instituted days before the vote, and glitches with a biometric system resulted in delays at some polling stations, resulting in the electoral agency reverting to manual balloting.
“There is a need to ensure that public access to information through ICT such as internet services are available and accessible to all persons during the electoral process,” the East African Community’s observer mission told reporters.
While Museveni’s re-election means there will be continuity for businesses, investors remain exposed to potential political interference and reputational risks, according to Mucahid Durmaz, a senior Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
“Weak state institutions and the concentration of power around the 81-year-old president mean his death or incapacitation could trigger a period of political instability and economic uncertainty,” Durmaz said. An anticipated transition of power to Museveni’s son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, 51, who heads the army, “would likely entrench a highly personalized and militarized authoritarian rule with diminished institutional safeguards and heightened unpredictability,” he added.
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