Uganda votes in tense presidential election

-

 
 
 
Voting is under way in Uganda, in a tense presidential election pitting longtime President Yoweri Museveni against opposition front runner Bobi Wine, a pop star-turned-opposition leader.

The run-up to Thursday’s vote was plagued by the worst political violence in years, with more than 50 people killed by security forces amid crackdowns on opposition rallies, as well as the repeated intimidation and arrest of opposition figures. Police say their actions are necessary to ensure compliance with COVID-19 restrictions.

Internet access has been cut off, and there are fears of unrest as security forces try to stop supporters of leading opposition challenger Bobi Wine from monitoring polling stations.

At polling stations in Kampala voting began more than 60 minutes late after election materials did not arrive on time.

Museveni, who has wielded power since 1986, is seeking a sixth term against a stiff challenge from Bobi Wine, whose popularity among a youthful population has rattled the 76-year-old former rebel leader. Nine other challengers are also trying to unseat Museveni.

More than 18 million people have registered to take part in the polls. A candidate must win more than 50 percent to avoid a runoff vote. The vote count will begin when polls close at 4pm (13:00 GMT) and results are expected within 48 hours. Parliamentary polls are also being held.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chicago Police release footage of officer fatally shooting 13-year-old boy

-
Image
Police Bodycam footage of a 13-year-old boy being shot dead by police in Chicago shows the youth appearing to drop a handgun and raising his hands less than a second before an officer kills him. A still frame taken from Officer Eric Stillman’s body camera footage shows that Adam Toledo was empty handed had his hands up when Officer Stillman shot him once in the chest at about 3am on 29 March. Police, who were responding to reports of shots fired in the area, say the boy had a handgun on him before the shooting. Officer Stillman’s footage shows him shining a light on a handgun on the ground near Adam after he shot him.    The release of the footage and other investigation materials comes at a sensitive time, with the ongoing trial in Minneapolis of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd and the recent police killing of another black man, Daunte Wright, in one of that city’s suburbs. Before the Civilian Office of Police Accountability posted the material on it...
Read more

Israel destroys nature reserve, uproots 10,000 trees

-
Image
The Israeli army destroyed a natural reserve and uprooted at least 10,000 trees in a military campaign in the northern West Bank in a move that Palestinians termed a "crime". Moataz Bisharat, who is responsible for monitoring Israeli settlement activity in the Jordan Valley, told Anadolu Agency that the occupation army pushed military vehicles and dozens of soldiers into the Ainun area in Tubas city in the morning and destroyed a nature reserve built on an area of about 400 dunums (98 acres). The occupation army "chopped down and destroyed about 10,000 forest trees and about 300 olive trees," he said. Trees were planted in the nature reserve eight years ago as part of the Greening Palestine project supervised by the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture and funded by the Venezuelan consulate in Palestine. Bisharat stressed that the occupation alleged that the destruction of the reserve came as it was classed as a military zone even though it was not more than 300 metr...
Read more

Unrest in South Africa increases fars of food and fuel shortages

-
Image
 Violence and looting has raged in South Africa for the sixth day running, stoking fears of food and fuel shortages as disruption to farming, manufacturing and oil refining began to bite amid the country’s worst unrest in decades. More than 70 people have died as grievances over the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma have widened into an outpouring of anger over the inequality that remains 27 years after the end of apartheid. Poverty has been exacerbated by severe social and economic restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. More than 1,200 people have been arrested in the lawlessness that has raged in poor areas of two provinces, where a community radio station was ransacked and forced off the air on Tuesday and some COVID-19 vaccination centres were closed, disrupting urgently needed inoculations. Many of the deaths in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces occurred in chaotic stampedes as thousands of people stole food, electric appliances, liquor and clothing from ...
Read more