President Yoweri Museveni has won Uganda’s presidential election, securing another term in office and extending his decades-long hold on power, according to official results released by electoral authorities.
Figures announced on Saturday show Museveni taking 71.65 percent of the vote to clinch a seventh term. His closest challenger, opposition leader and pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, was credited with 24.72 percent. Wine immediately rejected the results, describing the vote as deeply flawed and calling on supporters to stage peaceful protests.
Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, accused state agencies of manipulating the process in Museveni’s favour. He alleged that several of his polling agents were abducted and that the final tally did not reflect votes cast. He said he had rejected the “fake results” and urged Ugandans to demonstrate until the “rightful results are announced.”
Tensions rose on Friday night after Wine said security forces surrounded his home, forcing him to flee to avoid arrest. His party initially claimed he had been taken away in an army helicopter, a report police later dismissed.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said Wine was “not under arrest” and remained free to move, although access to his residence had been restricted. Rusoke said the measures were intended to prevent the property from being used to incite violence.
Concerns over the credibility of the election were heightened by technical problems on polling day. Biometric voter identification machines malfunctioned in several areas on Thursday, delaying voting in major urban centres including Kampala, where opposition support is strongest. Election officials eventually reverted to manual voter registers.
Pro-democracy activists, who have long argued that biometric verification reduces electoral manipulation, described the failure as a serious setback. Analysts say the decision to abandon the machines could be central to any legal challenge against the declared outcome.
Museveni defended the electoral commission’s decision to use paper registers after the machines broke down. Wine disagreed, saying the switch created opportunities for abuse. He accused the ruling party of “massive ballot stuffing” and said his agents were deliberately targeted to influence the result.
At 81, Museveni has sustained his rule through far-reaching changes to Uganda’s political system. Constitutional amendments have removed both age and term limits, while several potential challengers have been jailed or politically marginalised. He has given no public indication of when he plans to step aside.
Yusuf Serunkuma, an academic and columnist with The Observer newspaper, told The Associated Press that Wine’s challenge faced overwhelming structural obstacles. 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 said Museveni encountered one of the weakest and most divided opposition fields in years, reinforced by the president’s firm control of his party and the security forces.
Security agencies maintained a heavy presence throughout the campaign. Wine said he was routinely followed and that his supporters were dispersed using tear gas. Citing safety concerns, he conducted much of his campaigning in a flak jacket and helmet.
More than sixty years after independence from British colonial rule, Uganda has yet to experience a peaceful transfer of presidential power.
Meanwhile, veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye remains in prison. Besigye, who has contested the presidency four times, was charged with treason in February 2025 and remains in custody as Uganda absorbs the outcome of another disputed election.
