Bobi Wine, phone interview from hiding
Current President Musevini has been in power for over 40 years.
“Election rigging… court action is meaningless”
Uganda’s opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) leader and presidential candidate Bobi Wine has urged the public to reject the results of the recent presidential election, saying it was rigged.
According to the British Financial Times (FT) on the 20th (local time), candidate Wine said in a phone call that “the repression of myself and my supporters is ongoing.” Candidate Wine said he fled and was in hiding when police raided his home the day after last week’s election.
Current Ugandan President Yoweri Musebini was elected with an overwhelming approval rating in the recent presidential election. Uganda’s election authorities announced that Candidate Wine received only 24.72% of the votes in the presidential election, and current President Museveni received 71.65% of the votes and succeeded in his seventh term. President Musevini, who is currently 81 years old, took power through a coup in 1986 and amended the constitution to remove term limits and age restrictions, and has been in power for 40 consecutive years.
Candidate Wine claimed there was widespread ballot manipulation in this election and said, “The election was rigged and our democracy was violated.”
Candidate Wine mentioned that he is collecting evidence of alleged fraud and human rights violations in this election, but has no plans to challenge the election results in court. Instead, they are urging Ugandans to reject the election results.
“We are considering all non-violent, legal options,” he said. “There is no point in wasting time in courts that are under the regime’s control.”
The African Union election watchdog, led by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, criticized the military’s intervention in the election process and pointed out that the internet blockade had created public distrust and suspicion. The Ugandan government implemented restrictions on internet access during the presidential election.
On the other hand, President Museveni celebrated in a recent speech that the atmosphere of unity is coming back to Uganda. He described Wine’s party as terrorists, saying they were planning to attack polling places in areas they were losing.
Ugandan Army Commander-in-Chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Museveni’s eldest son and likely successor, publicly threatened to “behead” Wine, but later explained that it was a joke.
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