Amid ongoing political turmoil in Uganda, the European Union (EU) on Wednesday said it is concerned about the harassment of politicians and civil society actors in the country after last week’s general election, reported The BBC.
In the election, President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, won his sixth elective term. As per the results declared by the Ugandan election commission, Museveni won the election with 58.6 percent of the votes, while his closest competitor Bobi Wine secured just 34.8 percent of the votes.
The election was marred by suppression of media, a nationwide internet shutdown, and harassment of opposition candidates.
In a statement, the EU Council of Ministers called on the Ugandan government to stop its security agencies, investigate abuse claims and bring to account all those responsible for violations.
Opposition presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has been kept under house arrest in the capital, Kampala, since Friday after he announced that he is seeking to legally contest the results of the presidential election. He claimed that there had been ballot-box stuffing, intimidation and that his party’s agents had been beaten and chased away during last week’s election.
The 76-year-old Museveni dismissed the opposition’s fraud allegations and the claims of vote-rigging in an address to the nation, saying the election may turn out to be the “most cheating-free” election in Uganda’s history. He thanked his supporters and urged them to avoid any kind of violence.
The EU ministers, on the other hand, said the internet shutdown hampered the work of journalists, observers, and polling agents who were tasked to monitor the election.
Notably, election observers from the regional East African Community have also expressed similar concerns by the EU in their preliminary report.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union said the elections were peaceful.
