Political situation in Uganda

Uganda's dictator wins the election - for the seventh time

With more than half of the votes counted, it looks like the current dictator, 81-year-old Yoweri Museveni, is winning the Ugandan elections. This is reported by the BBC, among others.

The election has been characterized by violence, cheating and a total shutdown of the internet.

Museveni took power in 1986, and the upcoming term looks set to be his seventh in office.

All votes have not yet been counted, and the election results are expected to be ready on Saturday afternoon local time. But with 60 percent of the votes counted, Museveni was in the lead with just over 75 percent of the votes.

Opposition leader Bobi Wine, who according to his own statement has been under house arrest since the election, was at 21 percent. In the 2023 election, Bobi received 35 percent of the vote.

Security forces storm politicians' homes - several dead

At least ten people have died during the elections in Uganda, AFP reports, citing figures from the opposition.

Member of Parliament Muwanga Kivumbi, who is a member of opposition leader Bobi Wine's NUP party, tells AFP that security forces broke into his home and killed ten campaign staff.

Kivumbi's wife testifies that they hid in her garage when the security forces arrived.

- After they killed them, the military continued to shoot. And they removed all traces of the dead. There is only a pool of blood left here, she says.

A police spokesman in the area refutes the report, claiming that a group of "NUP thugs" were planning to burn down a police station. They were then "put out of action". She says that at least seven were killed, and that another 25 were arrested in the crackdown.