KAMPALA – Uganda commenced the vote count for its high-stakes presidential election on Friday, following a day of voting marred by an internet blackout, polling delays, and accusations from the opposition of government misconduct. The opposition leader claimed that several of his polling agents were detained by authorities.

Opposition figure Bobi Wine reported on Thursday that he was effectively under house arrest, unable to leave his residence. He alleged that in rural regions, his polling representatives were taken into custody before the voting began, significantly hindering his efforts to curtail electoral fraud, such as ballot stuffing.

Wine, a former musician turned politician, is challenging President Yoweri Museveni’s near 40-year tenure. In the aftermath of the election, military forces were visibly stationed outside Wine’s home near Kampala, the capital of Uganda, reflecting the heightened security measures.

On Thursday, Wine took to X to announce the arrest of a senior party official responsible for the western region, and he claimed there was widespread ballot tampering occurring throughout the election process.

The western areas of Uganda are known to be strongholds for the ruling party. This makes the absence of opposition polling agents during the vote count particularly detrimental to Wine’s campaign efforts.

In a bid to safeguard his electoral chances, Wine encouraged his supporters to actively “protect the vote.” He called for witnesses to document any alleged infractions at polling stations and supplemented this with the deployment of official polling agents.

Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.

Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.

Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.