The Presidential candidate of the National Unity Platform (NUP) in Uganda’s forthcoming election, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has accused the ruling party of planning to rig the elections.
Uganda holds its presidential and parliamentary elections on January 14, 2021. Bobi Wine has emerged the main challenger to President Yoweri Museveni who has been in power for over 30 years.
On Tuesday, Wine – whose house was raided by the military during a live radio interview – warned voters to guard their votes to prevent fraud.
“President Yoweri Museveni is known for vote rigging, so be careful and guard your votes,’’ Wine said at a joint press conference with other opposition leaders in the capital, Kampala.
Wine, 38, who has the support of Uganda’s youth, together with nine other candidates, faces off against Museveni, 76, on Thursday.
But the singer turned politician is said to be the only one to have a real chance of winning against Museveni, one of Africa’s longest-ruling heads of state, who has been in power since 1996 and changed Uganda’s constitution to enable himself to run for yet another five-year term.
“After voting, stay behind to guard the votes, Use phones to document the process, because we understand that Museveni plans to cut off the internet so that he can rig,’’ Wine said.
Wine also warned that electoral fraud “will turn into a recipe for violence.’’
“The people of Uganda are not going to accept any illegality,’’ he added.
The run-up to the election has already been overshadowed by violence occurring on an almost daily basis, with government security forces dispersing rallies, mostly by the opposition, using tear gas and live bullets.