KAMPALA, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Veteran Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni held a commanding lead in early presidential election results announced on Friday as conflicting accounts emerged of violence reported after the vote.
Museveni, who is 81 and has ruled Uganda since seizing power in 1986, wants a decisive victory following a campaign marred by violence at opposition rallies.
Results announced by the electoral commission from Thursday’s election showed Museveni with 76.25% of the vote based on tallies from nearly half of polling stations. His main challenger, popular singer Bobi Wine, trailed with 19.85% and the remaining votes were split among six other candidates.
Museveni had told reporters after casting his ballot on Thursday that he expected to win with 80% of the vote “if there’s no cheating”.
Wine alleged mass fraud during the election, which was held under an internet blackout that authorities said was needed to prevent “misinformation”, and called on supporters to protest.
The U.N. human rights office said last week the election was being held in an environment of “widespread repression and intimidation”, and recent political violence in neighbouring Tanzania and Kenya amplified fears about unrest in Uganda.
VIOLENCE SOUTHWEST OF THE CAPITAL
There were no reports of protests during voting hours, but violence broke out overnight in the town of Butambala, about 55 km (35 miles) southwest of the capital Kampala.
Agather Atuhaire, a prominent human rights activist, said soldiers and police had killed at least 10 opposition supporters who had gathered at the house of parliamentarian Muwanga Kivumbi to follow the early results.
Citing an account from Kivumbi’s wife, human rights activist Zahara Nampewo, Atuhaire said the soldiers and police fired tear gas and then live bullets at people sheltering inside Kivumbi’s compound.
Reuters was not able to reach Nampewo, who Atuhaire said was too shaken to speak to the media.
Lydia Tumushabe, a local police spokesperson, disputed that account. She said opposition “goons” organised by Kivumbi had attacked a police station and carried machetes, axes and boxes of matches.
She said the police had fired in self-defence and that there were fatalities and injuries, without saying how many.
Kivumbi could not be reached for comment, and Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the circumstances of the violence.
WINE’S PARTY SAYS HE’S UNDER HOUSE ARREST
Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) party wrote on its X account late on Thursday that the military and police had surrounded Wine’s house in the capital Kampala, “effectively placing him under house arrest”.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told Reuters he was not aware of Wine being placed under house arrest.
Security forces confined Wine to his home for days after the last election in 2021, in which he was credited with 35% of the vote. The United States said that election was neither free nor fair, a charge rejected by the authorities.
During the campaign, Wine’s rallies were repeatedly interrupted by security forces firing tear gas and bullets. At least one person was killed in the violence and hundreds of opposition supporters were arrested.
The government defended those actions as a response to lawless behaviour by opposition supporters.
(Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani and Alexander Winning,Editing by Aaron Ross, Alexandra Hudson and Timothy Heritage)
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