The Ugandan leader extends his 40-year rule after winning a disputed election

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of Thursday’s elections, extending his four-decade rule for another five years.

The Electoral Commission announced that he obtained 72% of the votes, compared to 25% for his closest competitor, Bobi Wine, who condemned what he described as “rigged results” and “vote fraud.”

Wine did not provide any details and the authorities did not respond to his allegations, but African Union election observers said they saw “no evidence of voter fraud.” Wayne has called for non-violent protests.

Museveni, 81, first came to power as rebel leader in 1986 but has since won seven elections.

The election process has been marred by violence, and Wayne, a 43-year-old former pop star, says at least 21 people have been killed across the country in recent days.

So far, authorities have confirmed the deaths of seven people.

Internet access in the country has been cut off since Tuesday, making it difficult to verify information.

Authorities say the blackout was necessary to prevent disinformation, fraud and incitement to violence, a move the UN human rights office condemned as “deeply troubling.”

Wine demanded the restoration of the Internet.

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who leads the African Union observer mission, told reporters that “the government must refrain from suspending access to the Internet” as the election approaches.

Jonathan also denounced “reports of intimidation, arrest and kidnapping,” saying they “create fear and weaken public confidence in the electoral process,” Agence France-Presse reported.

Overnight, Wine’s party announced that he had been kidnapped from his home in the capital, Kampala, which the police denied.

Wine later issued a statement on Facebook saying he had managed to evade a nighttime raid by security forces and was in hiding.

He had previously said that he was under house arrest.

Police did not confirm this, but spokesman Ketoma Rusuke said Wine’s movements were restricted because his home was an area of ”security importance”.

“We have controlled access to areas considered security hotspots,” he was quoted as saying by the Ugandan Daily Monitor newspaper.

He added: “We cannot allow people to use some places to gather and cause chaos.”

Wayne says he represents the youth in a country where most of the population is under 30 years old.

During his election campaign, he promised to tackle corruption and impose comprehensive reforms, while Museveni stressed that he is the only guarantor of stability in Uganda, a country with a history of conflict.

There were six other candidates, but none of them received more than 2% of the votes. The participation rate was 52.5%.

The election campaign period was marred by disruption of opposition activities, as security forces were accused of assaulting and detaining Wine’s supporters.

Rusuki, the police spokesman, rejected these complaints and accused opposition supporters of sabotage.