As dawn broke over Kampala on Friday, Uganda’s long wait began again. Ballot boxes were sealed. Numbers trickled in. And, as in past elections, President Yoweri Museveni emerged with an early advantage.
Provisional figures released by the Electoral Commission show Mr Museveni, the candidate of the ruling National Resistance Movement, leading with 61.7 per cent of the vote. His main challenger, the pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, has 33.4 per cent.
The results are drawn from just 133 polling stations. Officials stress they are only an early snapshot. Much of the country is still being counted. The figures could change as returns arrive and are verified.
Still, the early lead fits a familiar pattern. Mr Museveni, 81, has governed Uganda for four decades and has consistently opened strongly in previous contests, buoyed by the ruling party’s deep rural networks and state machinery.
This election is a rematch heavy with symbolism. Mr Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, is 43 and commands strong support among young, urban voters. He has cast himself as the face of generational change. Six other candidates are also in the race, though none is seen as a serious contender.
Voting itself was not without drama.
On Thursday, Mr Museveni encountered the very problems many Ugandans had complained about all day. At his polling station, biometric voter identification machines failed to recognise his fingerprints, briefly preventing him from voting.
“I put my right fingerprints on the machines, but it didn’t work,” he told journalists afterwards. “I put my left fingerprints, but it did not accept it.”
Eventually, officials verified his identity using facial recognition technology, allowing him to cast his ballot. Across the country, similar failures caused delays and forced election workers in some areas to revert to manual procedures.
The glitches reignited long-standing concerns about the reliability of Uganda’s electoral technology. Observers and opposition figures have often warned that technical failures can undermine confidence in the process, even when voting eventually proceeds.
Mr Museveni himself said the malfunction raised troubling questions. “I don’t know if this was an oversight or part of the manipulation,” he said. “But we shall study all the other factors.”
Security has also remained a flashpoint. Opposition supporters and rights groups have accused security forces of intimidating voters and using force to suppress dissent.
The military has rejected those claims. Colonel Chris Magezi, a spokesperson for the armed forces, said deployments were intended to prevent violence, not to influence the vote.
As counting continues, both camps are urging patience and vigilance. The Electoral Commission has promised to release results transparently as they are verified.
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