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THREAD: Uganda's President M7 was today declared re-elected with 5.8m votes, less than the 5.9m he received in 2016, despite 3m new voters.
Almost 1 in 2 registered voters did not vote, leading to lowest-turnout rate in a direct general election on record. More voters stayed away than voted for M7.
Two possibilities: either number of registered voters (~18m) is inflated, or campaign violence (including at least 54 shot dead in mid-November) suppressed the vote.
If 18m number is correct, it means M7 elected by ~3 in 10 registered voters. Not entirely a ringing endorsement.
Internet shutdown means very little info about integrity of the poll. Disenfranchisement, delays and ballot stuffing reported in many areas, hard to verify as yet.
This evening police restricted movements of opposition candidates, including runner-up Bobi Wine and MPs Mathias Mpuuga and Francis Zaake.
Police also used teargas to quell protests in Masaka and Luwero towns sparked by FALSE reports of MP Zaake being shot.
Internet shutdown has undermined transparency of the process and could potentially allow disinformation and fake news to spread.
In an on-going live televised victory speech, M7 just accused an unnamed country in the region of meddling in Uganda's politics. Guess who.
TBC
