Museveni Leads Uganda's Presidential Race as Tensions Rise

Fri Jan 16 2026 13:32:43 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

President Yoweri Museveni shows strong support in early election results, while opposition claims of fraud and election irregularities emerge amid heightened tensions.

In the early results of Uganda's presidential election, incumbent President Yoweri Museveni has secured 76% of the votes, leading opposition leader Bobi Wine, who has approximately 20%. The election, held under tense circumstances including an internet blackout, has been marred by allegations of fraud and reports of civil unrest. Wine's party has claimed he is under house arrest, adding to the electoral tension.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has taken a strong lead in provisional results from Thursday's presidential election, according to the electoral agency.

The results announced on Friday morning put Museveni in the lead with 76% of the votes, based on results from 45% of the country's polling stations. He is followed by opposition leader Bobi Wine with about 20%.

Ugandans voted in a tense national election on Thursday after an often violent campaign, with President Museveni, 81, seeking a seventh term in office.

Wine, a pop star-turned-politician, has alleged massive fraud during the election, which was held under an internet blackout. He did not provide documentary proof and the authorities have not responded to his allegations.

Late on Thursday, Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP) party indicated that the military and police had surrounded his house in the capital, Kampala, effectively placing him and his wife under house arrest. Security officers have unlawfully jumped over the perimeter fence and are now erecting tents within his compound, the party posted on X. The authorities are yet to comment.

During Thursday's vote, voting was delayed by up to four hours in many polling stations around the country due to the slow arrival of ballot boxes and malfunctioning biometric machines used to verify voters' identities. Some have linked these issues to the network outage.