Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni won a fifth term on Saturday, extending his three-decade rule in a vote rejected as fraudulent by an opposition leader under house arrest and criticised by the worldwide community.
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Museveni won with 60.7% of the votes while his closest competitor, opposition leader Kizza Besigye, had 35.3%, the commission said.
Museveni replied to Kerry that Besigye had tried to assault a police officer and had not been arrested however moderately escorted residence by police, based on Ugandan media.
Results released by the country’s Electoral Commission in the district of Wakiso showed that Museveni beat seven other presidential candidates, Xinhua reported.
In a statement Saturday, U.S. State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said that while the elections had been peaceful, their conduct was “deeply inconsistent with global standards and expectations for any democratic process”.
In the run-up to the Thursday vote, barriers to freedom of expression, assembly and association and excessive use of force were documented, the New York-based advocacy group said in an e-mailed statement on Saturday from the Ugandan capital, Kampala.
Some Ugandans have been pouring out their outrage on social media.
The election was marked by an “intimidating atmosphere, which was mainly created by state actors”, and the election commission lacks independence and transparency, the European Union observer mission said in its preliminary report.
“Voters actively participated in the campaign events and expressed a remarkable determination while waiting for the long hours on the election day to cast their ballots”, said EU Chief Observer Eduard Kukan.
Uganda’s long-time President Yoweri Museveni waves to supporters from the sunroof of his vehicle as he arrives for an election rally at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala, Uganda.
Police in riot gear had set off stun grenades and fired tear gas at Mr Besigye’s supporters, who responded by hurling rocks and erecting street barricades.
Besigye was put under “preventative arrest” at his home in Kampala on Friday, along with six officials from his party, police said.
The United States on Friday urged Museveni to cease the safety providers harassing his opponents.
The 71-year-old Museveni took power by force in 1986 and pulled Uganda out of years of chaos after a guerrilla war.
Museveni is a strong US ally, particularly on such security issues as unrest in neighboring Somalia.
She refused to give her second name out of fears for her security.
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In an interview with the Observer, Besigye described Museveni’s attacks on the opposition as those of a man who did not envisage ever leaving power.
