Yoweri Museveni wins a fifth term as Uganda's president

THERE was no celebrating on the streets of Kampala on the evening of February 20th after President Yoweri Museveni won a fifth term in office. The result was, after all, inevitable. It was an uneasy calm though. Gun-toting police and soldiers dominated the centre of the capital. Opposition leader Kizza Besiyge denounced the results from the confines of house arrest; violently suppressed protests usually follow his losses (this is Mr Besigye's fourth defeat in a presidential election).Mr Museveni trounced his competitors with 60.8% of the vote, less than the 68% share he won in 2011 but still comfortably ahead of his nearest rival, who scored 35.4%. It was also better than the 59% 'the Leopard' won in 2006, despite observers predicting that this would be his hardest election yet. Amama Mbabazi, a former prime minister who broke with his former boss in 2014 after the latter chose power over a pension, was once seen as a contender. He surprised by polling a paltry 1.4%.Ugandans have plenty of reasons to be unhappy with the electoral process. Social media and mobile-money services were blocked when voting began on Thursday (and were...Continue reading
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