Vote counting has begun at numerous polling stations in Uganda following the successful completion of voting in the general election on Thursday.
Officers of the Uganda Electoral Commission are leading the exercise, and the updates are anticipated to be provided gradually. The public has been advised by authorities to exercise patience and let the process unfold in an open and unhindered manner.
Pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43, is the major opponent of President Yoweri Museveni, 81, who has been in office since 1986 and is seeking a seventh consecutive election.
If all goes according to plan, the results of the presidential election are expected to be announced by Saturday, January 17, at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT), according to the BBC.
According to the BBC, this is because the law mandates that the Electoral Commission announce the presidential outcome within 48 hours after the conclusion of voting.
Eight presidential candidates, 353 constituency MPs, and 146 female representatives—one from each local district—are up for election in Uganda, which has 21.6 million registered voters. Among the eight candidates on the all-male list, Museveni and Bobi Wine are the front-runners.
They are running against each other in the polls for the second time. In the 2021 election, which was tainted by accusations of vote-rigging and an oppressive crackdown, the president received 58% of the vote, while Bobi Wine received 35 per cent.
