Uganda Election Chief Threatened Over Results

The head of Uganda’s electoral body, Simon Byabakama, has said that he received threats warning him against declaring certain presidential candidates as winners in Thursday’s election. 

Byabakama has insisted he will not be intimidated, though he did not name the officials behind the threats.

Byabakama was responding to a widely circulated video showing a presidential assistant claiming the electoral commission would never declare opposition candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, as president, even if he were to win. 

He told reporters that some individuals had warned him of consequences if he did not announce a particular candidate as president, but he emphasised that he was not in the business of “donating votes.”

“Some people say if you don’t declare so-and-so as president, you will see. I tell them that I am not in the business of donating votes.”

Byabakama noted that the campaign period had been marked by disruptions to opposition activities, including arrests of activists and police breaking up rallies. 

Speaking from the Electoral Commission headquarters in Kampala, he dismissed threats from what he called “idle people,” adding that fear did not exist in his vocabulary and that the process would be guided only by voters’ will and the law.

“You can see from my demeanour that fear is a word that does not exist in my vocabulary.”

In the controversial video, Daily Monitor reported, Yiga Kisakyamukama, the special presidential assistant for service delivery and monitoring, said Museveni would never leave power through voting.

Byabakama stressed, however, that Uganda’s law would determine the election outcome, explaining that the candidate who receives more than fifty percent plus one of valid votes would be declared president and that he would announce results within 48 hours of the close of polling.

Addressing concerns over the heavy military presence, Byabakama said security forces were deployed to maintain peace and stability, not to intimidate voters. He also acknowledged reports of polling stations located on military premises and said the commission would investigate and take necessary action if the claims were verified.

The commission chief’s remarks came amid an internet and mobile service blackout imposed by authorities on Tuesday to curb what they described as misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud, and related risks, a move the UN human rights office called “deeply worrying.”

President Yoweri Museveni, 81, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, is seeking a seventh term, while Bobi Wine, a 43-year-old former pop star, is the main challenger, aiming to unseat Museveni for a second time after finishing runner-up in the 2021 election.

Six other candidates are also contesting, with about 21.6 million registered voters.