Uganda election opposition candidate arrested on polling day

One person died and 19 were wounded as police fired bullets and tear gas, while Besigye supporters responded by hurling rocks.

“I came ready – I packed tea and pancakes to wait until I vote”.

Thursday is election day in Uganda, but it’s not easy for voters to tweet about it or update their Facebook pages – the government has shut down social media, calling the move a “security measure”.

With results counted from about 47 percent of polling stations across the country, Museveni had about 63 percent of the vote and Besigye had about 33 percent, the election commission said. The opposition tweeted photographs of what they said were pre-marked ballot papers in favor of Museveni, while local media tweeted photographs of ballot boxes that reportedly weren’t sealed and may have been tampered with.

The head of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, called the long delays “absolutely inexcusable” and said they “will not inspire trust in the system and the process”. “Besigye and harassment of opposition party members during voting and tallying, and urged President Museveni to rein in the police and security forces”.

He said ahead of the elections that he did not believe they would be free or fair.

Besigye was also detained briefly in Kampala on Monday, after his convoy attempted to pass through the city center.

Museveni is running for a fifth term in office, attempting to extend a 30-year stretch as president.

Speaking to reporters after voting in the western district of Kiruhura, Museveni said the shutdown of social media sites “must be steps taken by security” in anticipation of certain threats.

Museveni, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, has presided over strong economic growth, but faced mounting accusations at home and overseas of cracking down on dissent and failing to tackle corruption.

Director of Uganda’s Democratic Alliance (TDA) Zac Niringiye complained of electoral shortcomings that he blamed on a corrupt government machinery being controlled by the incumbent president Yoweri Museveni. He’s been president for the last 30 years.

“If the voting time is reduced like this there will be many people who will not be able to vote”, said Dickson Mamber, a 34-year-old history teacher, who had been waiting in line for two hours at Muyembe polling station in Kampala.

As people voted, young men on motorcycles who appeared to support Besigye looked on from a distance, saying they wanted to make sure there was no ballot- stuffing.

Key opposition candidate Kizza Besigye arrived at a house in Naguru and demanded access into the property after receiving information that policemen with stuffed ballot papers were inside.

The election commission earlier said it “regrets” delays in some areas and appealed for calm, but opposition leader Amama Mbabazi, a former prime minister and ruling party stalwart, condemned the body.

Around 15 million people are expected to vote in Thursday’s election.

Many Ugandans who live in Kampala made a decision to go to vote in their village fearing the violence that may happen after the elections. He is a staunch US ally, and Ugandan soldiers lead an African Union peacekeeping force against Islamist insurgents in Somalia.