KAMPALA, Uganda
\nUganda\u2019s presidential election was plagued by widespread delays Thursday in addition to a days-long Internet shutdown that has been criticized as an anti-democratic tactic in a country where the president has held office since 1986.
\nSome polling stations remained closed for up to four hours after the scheduled 7 a.m. start time due to \u201ctechnical challenges,\u201d according to the nation\u2019s electoral commission, which asked polling officers to use paper registration records to ensure the difficulties did not \u201cdisenfranchise any voter.\u201d
\nPresident Yoweri Museveni, 81, faces seven other candidates, including Robert Kyagulanyi, a musician-turned-politician best known as Bobi Wine, who is calling for political change.
\nThe East African country of roughly 45 million people has 21.6 million registered voters. Polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to the electoral commission. Results are constitutionally required to be announced in 48 hours.
\nImpatient crowds gathered outside polling stations expressing concerns over the delays Thursday morning. Umaru Mutyaba, a polling agent for a parliamentary candidate, said it was \u201cfrustrating\u201d to be waiting outside a station in the capital Kampala.
\n\u201cWe can\u2019t be standing here waiting to vote as if we have nothing else to do,\u201d he said.
\nWine alleged there was electoral fraud occurring, noting that biometric voter identification machines were not working at polling places and claiming there was \u201cballot stuffing.\u201d
\n\u201cOur leaders, including Deputy President for Western Region, arrested. Many of our polling agents and supervisors abducted, and others chased off polling stations,\u201d Wine wrote in a post on social media platform X.
\nMuseveni told journalists he was notfied biometric machines were inoperable at some stations and he supported the electoral body\u2019s decision to revert to paper registration records. He did not comment on the allegation of fraud.
\nSsemujju Nganda, a prominent opposition figure and lawmaker seeking reelection in Kira municipality, told The Associated Press he had been waiting in line to vote for three hours.
\nNganda also noted biometric machines were malfunctioning, in addition to the late arrival of balloting materials, and predicted the delays likely would lead to apathy and low turnout in urban areas where the opposition has substantial support.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be chaos,\u201d he said Thursday morning.
\nNicholas Sengoba, an independent analyst and newspaper columnist, said delays to the start of voting in urban, opposition areas favored the ruling party.
\nMuseveni serving Africa\u2019s third-longest presidential term
\nUganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
\nMuseveni has served the third-longest term of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. Some critics say removing him through elections remains difficult, but the aging president\u2019s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
\nMuseveni and Wine are reprising their rivalry from the previous election in 2021, when Wine appealed to mostly young people in urban areas. With voter turnout of 59 percent, Wine secured 35 percent of the ballots against Museveni\u2019s 58 percent, the president\u2019s smallest vote share since his first electoral campaign three decades ago.
\nThe lead-up to Thursday\u2019s election produced concerns about transparency, the possibility of hereditary rule, military interference and opposition strategies to prevent vote tampering at polling stations.
\nUganda\u2019s Internet was shut down Tuesday by the government communications agency, which cited misinformation, electoral fraud and incitement of violence. The shutdown has affected the public and disrupted critical sectors such as banking.
\nHeavy security deployed
\nThere has been heavy security leading up to voting, including military units deployed on the streets this week.
\nAmnesty International said security forces are engaging in a \u201cbrutal campaign of repression,\u201d citing a Nov. 28 opposition rally in eastern Uganda where the military blocked exits and opened fire on supporters, killing one person.
\nMuseveni urged voters to come out in large numbers during his final rally Tuesday.
\n\u201cYou go and vote, anybody who tries to interfere with your freedom will be crushed. I am telling you this. We are ready to put an end to this indiscipline,\u201d he said.
\nThe national electoral commission chairperson, Simon Byabakama, urged tolerance among Ugandans as they vote.
\n\u201cLet us keep the peace that we have,\u201d Byabakama said late Wednesday. \u201cLet us be civil. Let us be courteous. Let\u2019s be tolerant. Even if you know that this person does not support (your) candidate, please give him or her room or opportunity to go and exercise his or her constitutional right.\u201d
\nAuthorities also suspended the activities of several civic groups during the campaign season. That Group, a prominent media watchdog, closed its office Wednesday after the interior ministry alleged in a letter that the group was involved in activities \u201cprejudicial to the security and laws of Uganda.\u201d
\nVeteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, remains in prison after he was charged with treason in February 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KAMPALA, Uganda Uganda\u2019s presidential election was plagued by widespread delays Thursday in addition to a days-long Internet shutdown that has been criticized as an anti-democratic tactic in a country where the president has held office since 1986. Some polling stations remained closed for up to four hours after the scheduled 7 a.m. start time due […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":525896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-525855","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n