(4 minutes read)
· 76 – year old Yoweri Museveni retained his seat at the president of Uganda
· This is the sixth win in a row for Musevni, who has already completed 35 –years in office, thereby becoming one of the longest serving heads of state in the world
· Museveni bagged 58.6 percent of votes, enough to avoid a runoff
In an election, which whipped up many controversies and watched very closely across the world, 76 – year old Yoweri Museveni retained his seat at the president of Uganda. He defeated his nearest rival pop star turned musician Bobi Wine. This is the sixth win in a row for Musevni, who has already completed 35 –years in office, thereby becoming one of the longest serving heads of state in the world. The election, marred by violence and allegations of fraud and rigging, would give the current incumbent another term of office. There were widespread expectations of Bobi Wine making it to the top, going by the public mood, say some of the observers.
Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986 and since then served the office uninterrupted. There were reports accusing him of crushing dissent with an iron hand. The media also was silenced using all possible tricks up in the sleeves, say his detractors. There were widespread violence during the campaign trails. Bobi Wine and other opposition leaders complained of security forces intimidating during the election campaigns and many were not allowed to vote. The government sources pointed out that the security forces were merely providing security to opposition leaders including Bobi Wine to obviate violent incidents.
There were reports that Bobi Wine was under heavy guard at his home in the outskirts of Kampala. The 38-year old Wine, an icon of youth, was expected to give Museveni a tough time. More than three quarters of the population of Uganda consists of people who are below 30-years of age and were believed to be the supporters of the young pop
singer, who has risen to greater heights as a strong contender to the post. It may be noted that in several countries in Africa, the young population has been clamoring for change of guard at the top through democratic means to inject fresh ideas for governance. Ethiopia is a case in point, where young Abiy Ahmed has come to power with the support of mostly the younger population.
According to reports, Museveni bagged 58.6 percent of votes, enough to avoid a runoff. If the voting percentage of the candidate having the maximum number of votes is less than 50% of the votes cast, that person should face a runoff election wherein he/she will have to face the combined candidate of the opposition. Wine was one among the 10 –candidates, who was pitted against Museveni. He could manage to get only 34.8% of the votes
The electoral commission chairmen Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama declared Yoweri Museveni as elected President of the Republic of Uganda. The turnout for the election was 57.22 % of the total number of eligible voters, which in absolute terms worked out to 18 million voters. Reports from Kampala indicate that there were celebrations on the street by supporters of Museveni. While the celebrations were going in full swing, there were angry outbursts that the winning streak being stolen from Bobi Wine’s jaw using fraudulent methods. A top US diplomat for Africa Tibor Nagy in his twitter handle came down squarely on the winning side mentioning that the vote was “fundamentally flawed”, citing the denial of accreditation to election observers and “violence and harassment of opposition figures”, as reported by various news channels and social media. www.trendsnafrica. com could not ascertain the authenticity of such reports.
