ADDIS ABABA, 18th January—The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has commended the conduct of elections in Uganda and congratulated President Yoweri Museveni on his re-election for a seventh term until 2031.
In a statement released Saturday 17th January, he reiterated the continental body’s commitment to continue to support the promotion of democracy and effective governance on the continent.
The 81-year-old Museveni, leader of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), who has been at the helm since 1986, was declared the victor by Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, the Chairman of the Uganda Electoral Commission, in the presidential election with 7,946,772 votes (71.65%).
“Robert Kyagulanyi, the leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP), has garnered 2,741,238 votes (24.72%), Nathan Nandala Mafabi of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) 209,039 (1.88%), Muntu Mugisha of Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) 59,206 (0.53%), while other contestants’ votes were below 1.21% standing at 134,523,” Justice Byabakama made the announcements at the National Tallying Centre in Lubowa.
According to Justice Byabakama, the total votes cast during the January 15th elections were 11,366,201, representing a 52.5% voter turnout across 50,739 polling stations nationwide. The total number of eligible voters is currently 21.6 million.
However, his fiercest challenger Bobi Wine, whose whereabouts remain unknown, has rejected the results, alleging fraud and violence.
The AU Chairperson further expressed his satisfaction with the Election Observer Missions to Uganda led by Goodluck Jonathan, the former Nigerian President, for his sterling leadership of the Joint AU, Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)/Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) team.
“I applaud the people of Uganda for their commitment to consolidating democratic gains, peace, security, and development,” he concluded.
