A Ugandan police officer unloads ballot boxes from a truck at a polling station set up in front of an election billboard supporting Uganda’s incumbent President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala on January 15, 2026.
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LAGOS, Nigeria — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been declared the winner of presidential elections, extending his four-decade grip on power.
The vote took place amid a government-imposed internet shutdown and was marred by reports of deadly violence and widespread intimidation.
Main opposition candidate Bobi Wine condemned the poll and said he was in hiding after police raided his home.
On Saturday, after 48 hours of waiting after the elections, the chairman of the Uganda Electoral Commission announced that Museveni had won, securing his seventh term in office since coming to power in 1986.
Museveni won with 71.65% of the vote, totaling 7,944,772 votes, while Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, of the opposition National Unity Platform received 24.7%, or 2,741,238 votes.
Simon Byabakama, head of the Uganda Electoral Commission, made the announcement.
“Having obtained the highest number of votes in the election, and with votes cast in its favor exceeding 50 percent of the valid votes, the commission hereby declares the President-elect: Tibuhaburwa Kaguta Museveni.”
Museveni, 81, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, has now secured an unprecedented seventh term in office. The election was widely condemned by rights groups, citing internet shutdowns, election violence, restrictions on opposition campaigns and the banning of several international election observers.
Wine, 43, said police burst into his home late Friday night. In an article on X, he said he had managed to escape and accused authorities of fabricating the results.
“Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other members of my family remain under house arrest,” he wrote. “I know these criminals are looking for me everywhere and I am doing my best to keep myself safe.”
Ugandan opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine arrives with his wife to vote on election day in Kampala. on January 15, 2026.
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Wine also claimed that dozens of his party supporters were killed by police, including at least 10 who were monitoring the vote count. Police disputed this claim, saying seven people were killed after attacking a police station.
Speaking to the media on Saturday in Kampala, the head of the East African Community Observer Mission, Edda Makabagwiza, also expressed concern.
“The Uganda Communications Commission issued a directive to suspend public access to the internet, which had a direct impact on the compilation and analysis of our observers’ field reports.”
Uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world. An overwhelming majority of its 50 million inhabitants are under 40 and have only known one president.
There is a heavy military presence in the capital, according to a Kampala journalist who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. In some areas, security agents have forced businesses to close, and the streets are largely deserted, with many residents staying home uncertain about what will happen next.
Source | domain www.npr.org
