Uganda’s long-time president Yoweri Museveni has taken an early lead over his main rival in the country’s presidential elections, according to provisional results released on Friday.
The partial results announced by Uganda’s electoral commission showed Museveni had taken nearly 62 per cent of the vote – far ahead of his nearest rival Kizza Besigye with 33 per cent, after about 23 percent of the votes had been counted.
The final election results are expected to be announced on Saturday.
Election day on Thursday was dominated by claims of vote-rigging and the brief arrest of Besigye, as he and his supporters tried to show journalists what they said was a vote-rigging operation in a suburban house.
The poll was also marred by delays in delivering voting materials, especially in areas seen as opposition strongholds, as well as a government shutdown of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Jonathan Taremwa, a spokesman for the electoral commission, told Al Jazeera that the vote was “transparent” and “fair”.
“Some people didn’t get to vote. It was unfortunate, it was regrettable, and the commission offered an apology. We finally had stations [affected by delays] opened for votes and later extended the voting from 4pm to 7pm,” Taremwa said.
“Where there was fracas and the vote was not able to continue we postponed it. As I speak to you now, voting is continuing in those polling stations. So all is settled and all is well,” he said.
Besigye’s supporters said the delays were deliberate and were aimed at favouring Museveni, whose rival is popular in Kampala.
The head of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, called the long delays “absolutely inexcusable,” the AP news agency reported.
Museveni, 71, a former rebel who seized power in 1986, is widely expected to win a fifth term, which would extend his power into a fourth decade.
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