Kigali, Rwanda – Ugandans head to the polls today Thursday January 15, 2025 amid heightened security and political energy. Soldiers are visibly deployed across parts of Kampala, a move authorities say is intended to safeguard voters but critics view as a warning against dissent.
The military presence has sharpened anxieties around an election widely seen as highly consequential. The vote presents incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, 81, seeking to extend his rule, which began in 1986, into a fifth decade.
Challenging him is an opposition figure who has mobilized frustration among young Ugandans over unemployment and political exclusion. Although seven candidates are on the ballot, the race has largely narrowed into a contest between continuity and change.
Polling stations are scheduled to open at 7 a.m. and close at 4 p.m., with anyone already in line allowed to vote. More than 21 million registered voters are expected to participate, choosing both a president and a new Parliament.
Museveni rose to power after years of dictatorship and turmoil under Idi Amin and subsequent governments. Leading a guerrilla movement that promised stability and democratic renewal, he was once praised as part of a new generation of African leaders.
However, his long tenure has been marked by allegations of human rights abuses, corruption and the weakening of political opposition, hence contesting that legacy now.
Constitutional changes including the removal of presidential term and age limits cleared the way for his continued rule, making him the only leader most Ugandans have ever known.
His main challenger, Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, represents a different political trajectory. A former pop star whose music reflected life in Kampala’s poorer neighborhoods, the 43-year-old has transformed cultural influence into political mobilization.
As leader of the National Unity Platform, now the largest opposition party in Parliament, he has become a symbol of generational change.
Bobi Wine finished second in the 2021 election with about 35 percent of the vote, behind Museveni’s 58 percent. That contest was followed by allegations of vote rigging and a harsh crackdown on opposition supporters.
Since then, Bobi Wine and his allies say they have faced arrests and restrictions on political activity, accusations the government denies.
Security, rights and the voting process
This year’s campaign has unfolded in a restrictive environment where opposition rallies have frequently been broken up by police or security forces, while activists have been detained on what rights groups describe as politically motivated charges.
United Nations experts have warned of a “pervasive climate of fear,” and Amnesty International has accused authorities of using tear gas, beatings and arbitrary arrests in what it described as a “brutal campaign of repression.”
The government rejects these accusations, saying security measures are necessary to ensure a peaceful vote. Concerns over the integrity of the process persist.
Bobi Wine has urged supporters to remain at polling stations after voting to help safeguard ballots. Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama has called on voters to cast their ballots peacefully and then leave.
“Once voters are perceived to prefer a particular candidate, they face intimidation before even entering the polling station,” he said last December.
“Some of these areas are extremely congested, and the prescribed distance for polling station setups isn’t sufficient due to limited space. If all 600 registered voters at a station turn up and linger, it will be chaotic; they’ll either spill onto the roads or violate the 20-meter guideline.”
Economic pressures and the road ahead
Economic anxiety weighs heavily on voters, particularly young people facing high unemployment. While average incomes have risen slowly since the pandemic, job creation has not kept pace with population growth.
Corruption remains a major grievance. Uganda ranks 140th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. More concerns have been raised by the directive to shutdown internet, just as in previous elections.
Vote counting will begin immediately after polls close, with results transmitted to a central tallying center. By law, the Electoral Commission must declare the presidential result within 48 hours.
Several other candidates are on the ballot, though none are widely seen as serious challengers. Veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye is absent, remaining in jail on treason charges he denies.
Election observers including a joint African Union (AU) and COMESA team led by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan are closely watching developments for signs of transparency, credibility, restraint.
