Ugandan long-time president wins election amid opposition claims of 'ballot stuffing'

Uganda's long-time leader Yoweri Museveni has won the country's presidential election, officials say, amid claims by the main opposition leader of "massive ballot stuffing".

Mr Museveni, 81, has been in power for 40 years and is set to serve a seventh term in office after securing 71% of support this time, according to the electoral commission. His main challenger, musician-turned-politician Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, better known as Bobi Wine, gained 24% of the vote.

Wine, of the National Unity Platform party, said the military and police had raided his home but he was able to "escape". He has dismissed the announced results as "fake" and has asked his supporters to ignore them.

Police said Wine was free to leave his house, although there was "controlled access" for others trying to enter the property. Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said the measure was implemented to prevent people from using the premises to incite violence.

Wine has alleged fraud, claiming there was "massive ballot stuffing" and that his party's polling agents were abducted to give an unfair advantage to the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement. Meanwhile in a statement shared on social media on Saturday morning, Wine said that "last night was very difficult at our home" as "the military and police raided us" but he managed to "escape".

"They switched off power and cut off some of our CCTV cameras. There were helicopters hovering over," he said.

"I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them," he added, saying that his wife and other family members remain at their home in a residential area on the outskirts of the capital Kampala. Wine reiterated his "complete rejection" of the results and said the results have "zero backing".

Uganda was plunged into a state-enforced internet blackout, and the media were forcefully restricted from reporting on the unfolding scenes of unrest, as the votes were tallied and disputed. Read more:Uganda election descends into deadly violencePresident on shutting down the internetHow Ugandan government is trying to stop pop star politician The voting process has been marred by delays caused by the late arrival of materials at polling stations after they had opened, as well as malfunctions of some biometric machines.

Electoral officials faced questions about the failure of biometric voter identification machines on Thursday, which delayed the start of voting in urban areas - often opposition strongholds - including the capital. After the machines failed, polling officials reverted to using manual voter registers, a setback for pro-democracy activists who had long advocated their use to prevent election fraud.

Security forces were visibly deployed throughout the campaign, and Wine said authorities monitored his movements and harassed his supporters, including firing tear gas at them. Citing safety concerns, he conducted his campaign wearing a flak jacket and helmet.

Mr Museveni has maintained his grip on power by repeatedly changing the rules. Constitutional term and age limits - the final legal barriers to his rule - have been abolished, while several potential presidential challengers have been imprisoned or pushed aside.

He has given no indication of when he plans to step down. Uganda has not seen a peaceful transition of presidential power since gaining independence from British colonial rule more than six decades ago.

Veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential contender, has remained jailed since being charged with treason in February 2025..