Uganda’s long-serving leader Yoweri Museveni has secured another term in office, extending his grip on power after official results declared him the winner of a highly contested presidential election marked by disruption and dispute.
According to figures released on Saturday, Museveni won 71.65 percent of the vote, claiming a seventh term as president. His closest challenger, opposition figure and pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, finished with 24.72 percent. Wine immediately rejected the outcome, citing widespread irregularities and calling on Ugandans to demonstrate peacefully against what he described as a flawed process.
Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, accused authorities of engineering an unfair election, alleging that his polling agents were abducted and that the announced figures did not reflect the will of voters. He said he had rejected the “fake results” and urged citizens to protest until the “rightful results are announced.”
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Tensions intensified after Wine said security forces raided his home on Friday night, forcing him to flee to avoid arrest. His party initially claimed he had been taken away in an army helicopter, a report later denied by police.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said Wine was “not under arrest” and could move freely, though access to his residence was restricted. Rusoke said the measures were intended to prevent the property from being used to incite violence.
The credibility of the vote has also been questioned following technical failures on election day. Biometric voter identification machines malfunctioned on Thursday, delaying voting in several urban centres, including Kampala, where opposition support is strongest. As a result, election officials reverted to manual voter registers.
Pro-democracy activists, who have long pushed for biometric verification to limit manipulation, described the failure as a serious setback. Analysts say the decision to abandon the machines could form the basis of legal challenges to the final outcome.
Museveni said he supported the electoral commission’s decision to use paper registers after the machines broke down. Wine, however, claimed the switch opened the door to fraud, accusing the ruling party of “massive ballot stuffing” and insisting his agents were targeted to tilt the contest.
At 81, Museveni has remained in power by reshaping the political landscape. Constitutional changes have removed both age and term limits, while several potential rivals have been jailed or politically sidelined. He has given no indication of when he plans to step aside.
READ ALSO: Museveni takes strong lead in Uganda presidential race, per early results
Yusuf Serunkuma, an academic and columnist with The Observer newspaper, told The Associated Press that Wine’s challenge was never likely to succeed against an entrenched system. Wine “didn’t stand a chance” against the authoritarian Museveni, he said. “He has quite successfully emasculated the opposition,” Serunkuma added. “You would have to credit him for that.”
Serunkuma also observed that Museveni faced one of the weakest opposition lineups in years, pointing to divisions among opposition figures and the president’s firm control of his party and the armed forces.
Security forces maintained a heavy presence throughout the campaign. Wine said he was routinely followed and that his supporters were dispersed with tear gas. Fearing for his safety, he conducted much of his campaign wearing a flak jacket and helmet.
Uganda has never experienced a peaceful handover of presidential power since gaining independence from British colonial rule more than sixty years ago.
Meanwhile, veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who has run for president four times, remains behind bars. He was charged with treason in February 2025 and is still in prison as the country absorbs the outcome of another disputed election.
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