The East African country is holding a highly contested general election on Thursday, days after a government regulator ordered mobile network operators to block public internet access, beginning Tuesday evening
Uganda is tense as polling stations have opened, with President Yoweri Museveni expected to extend his four-decade rule amid a police crackdown on the opposition, fears of violence and an internet shutdown.
The East African country is holding a highly contested general election on Thursday, days after a government regulator ordered mobile network operators to block public internet access, beginning Tuesday evening.
Polling stations opened slowly, as is common in Uganda, but voting was under way shortly after 7 a.m. (04:00 GMT) in at least one suburb of the capital, Kampala, AFP journalists reported. Heavy police and army patrols were also observed in the eastern border town of Jinja, according to another AFP team.
Partial results are expected later in the day once polls close.
More than 21.6 million voters are registered for the election. In a country where about 70 percent of the population is under the age of 35, high unemployment is a major concern, particularly for first-time voters.
The Daily Monitor newspaper reflected public anxiety by publishing a full-page guide on how to “election-proof your home,” advising residents to reinforce doors and windows and identify a safe room in case of unrest.
The United Nations Human Rights Office on Wednesday stressed that “open access to communication and information is key to free and genuine elections,” adding that all Ugandans must be able to participate in shaping their country’s future.
Museveni, 81, has been accused of overseeing a years-long crackdown on critics, including the arrest of opposition leaders and their supporters. He is being challenged in Thursday’s vote by pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, whose campaign rallies have frequently been disrupted by authorities.
As during the 2021 election, hundreds of Bobi Wine’s supporters have been arrested in the run-up to the vote. The opposition leader has worn a flak jacket at rallies, describing the election as a “war” and Museveni as a “military dictator.”
“We are very aware that they are planning to rig the election, to brutalise people, to kill people, and they don’t want the rest of the world to see,” Bobi Wine told AFP.
Last week, the UN Human Rights Office warned that Ugandans were heading to the polls amid “widespread repression and intimidation” targeting the political opposition, human rights defenders, journalists and dissenting voices.
The Uganda Communications Commission has defended the internet shutdown, saying it is necessary to prevent “misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks.”
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