Uganda's electoral commission says President Yoweri Museveni leads in Thursday's election with 29% of votes counted, receiving 63% of ballots while top opposition candidate Bobi Wine has 28%.
Wine, a popular singer-turned-lawmaker half the president's age, alleges that the vote in the East African country was rigged. The electoral commission on Friday replied that the burden is on him to prove it.
The largely peaceful vote followed a violent campaign period in which Wine was arrested multiple times on various charges and saw dozens of his party members detained.
Election officials count the ballots after polls closed in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. Ugandans voted in a presidential election tainted by widespread violence that some fear could escalate as security forces try to stop supporters of leading opposition challenger Bobi Wine from monitoring polling stations. (AP PhotoJerome Delay)
Final election results are expected by Saturday evening.
Internet access remains cut in Uganda but the electoral commission asserted that it will have no effect on the process.
The election's generational clash has been widely watched in many African countries.
Election officials count the ballots after polls closed in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. Ugandans voted in a presidential election tainted by widespread violence that some fear could escalate as security forces try to stop supporters of leading opposition challenger Bobi Wine from monitoring polling stations. (AP PhotoJerome Delay)