Museveni wins 6th term as Uganda’s President, defeats Wine

Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has won a 6th term as president, defeating youthful Bobi Wine, his closest rival in the race.

Museveni won 58.6 per cent of the votes while Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, recorded 34.8 per cent, according to the election results announced Saturday by the Uganda Electoral Commission.

Wine, a former pop star, may be challenging the results as he has vowed to provide evidence of fraud once the Internet is restored.

He claimed some of his polling agents were arrested and detained on Thursday.

But the Electoral Commission has denied any vote-rigging in the Thursday’s poll.

BBC reported that poll monitors had criticised the government closure of internet access.

They said this undermined the confidence of the people in the presidential poll.

Museveni, 76, has been in power since 1986 and says he represents stability in the country.

“The electoral commission declares Yoweri Museveni… elected President of the Republic of Uganda,” the election commission Chairman, Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, said on Saturday.

He said turnout for the election was 57 per cent of the almost 18 million registered voters.

He also said the vote had been peaceful, and called on Wine to accept the outcome of the election.