Polls have closed after a chaotic day of voting in Uganda, where President Yoweri Museveni is hoping to extend his four-decade rule amid a crackdown on the opposition and a widely denounced internet backout.
Voting was delayed by several hours in many polling stations around the East African country on Thursday as ballot boxes were slow to arrive and biometric machines – used to verify voters’ identity – were malfunctioning, which some blamed on the internet blockage.
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“We are holding elections in the dark,” Museveni’s main presidential challenger, singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, said after casting his vote.
“This is done in order to facilitate the intended rigging of the regime,” he said. “We would encourage the people of Uganda to resist.”
There were no reports of protests as polling stations began to close after 5pm (14:00 GMT) local time and ballot counting began, with the results expected within 48 hours.
Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, told reporters after casting his ballot in western Uganda that he expected to win 80 percent of the vote “if there’s no cheating”, dismissing the prospect of an upset victory by Wine.
The election came as the 81-year-old incumbent has been accused of overseeing a years-long crackdown on its critics, arresting political opposition leaders and their supporters.
A few days before Thursday’s vote, a Ugandan government regulatory body instructed mobile network operators to block public internet access in the country, saying the move aimed to prevent “misinformation” and potential voter fraud.
But the restrictions drew widespread criticism, including from Amnesty International, which condemned the internet shutdown as “a brazen attack on the right to freedom of expression”.
The UN Human Rights Office also warned last week that Ugandans would be heading to the polls amid “widespread repression and intimidation against the political opposition, human rights defenders, journalists and those with dissenting views”.
Unemployment a key issue
More than 21.6 million voters had registered to cast their ballots in the election, with high unemployment a key issue for many first-time voters in a country where 70 percent of people are under age 35.
Casting his vote in the Kasangati township, north of the capital Kampala, Ronald Tenywa, a 45-year-old university researcher, complained that political leaders “cling on for a long time”.
“If we vote for someone who cares, things will be better for Uganda,” he said.
But many Ugandans still praise Museveni as the man who ended the country’s post-independence chaos and oversaw rapid economic growth, even if much was lost amid a string of massive corruption scandals.
“Peace and security in the country is very good. The party is well-organised,” said Angee Abraham Lincoln, 42, a Museveni supporter waiting to cast his vote in Kampala.
There was a heavy police and army presence throughout the day, with authorities determined to prevent the anti-government protests.
The local Daily Monitor newspaper also had run a full-page on how to “election-proof your home”, advising citizens to reinforce doors and windows and designate a safe room in case of unrest.
Alongside Wine, six other opposition candidates were challenging Museveni on Thursday as Ugandan voters also chose members of parliament.