JURIST - Paper Chase: Uganda opposition claims fraud in presidential election

[JURIST] Opposition politicians in Uganda [JURIST news archive] have said that Thursday's election, the first multi-party elections held in the country in more than twenty years, was marred by fraud. Though it appears that incumbent President Yoweri Museveni [BBC profile] will win re-election, claims of voting fraud have been leveled at the ruling party by challenger Kizza Besigye [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] of the opposition party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) [party website]. FDC officials accused the ruling party of posting soldiers close to voting stations to intimidate citizens, using ink to mark ballots that could be washed away, and leaving names off the registers. While the ruling party rejected voting fraud claims [Reuters report] as technical glitches rather than political maneuvers, an FDC spokesperson announced that the party is already contemplating a legal challenge of the awaited results.

Meanwhile, at least seven FDC supporters were arrested for inciting violence at polling places [Xinhua report] and for demanding votes for the FDC ballot. However, the violence was sporadic and less severe than previously anticipated [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

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