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Uganda polls: Museveni's main rival, Besigye, arrested | Uganda polls: Museveni's main rival, Besigye, arrested |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Police in Uganda say they have arrested the main opposition presidential candidate to prevent him from announcing his own election results. | |
Kizza Besigye was detained during a raid on his party's headquarters in the capital, Kampala, following Thursday's tightly contested elections. | |
Police also fired tear gas, as clashes broke out with his supporters. | |
With official results for nearly half of the polling stations declared, President Yoweri Museveni is leading. | |
He is running for a fifth term, after 30 years in power. | He is running for a fifth term, after 30 years in power. |
This is the third time in the space of a week that Mr Besigye has been detained. | This is the third time in the space of a week that Mr Besigye has been detained. |
He was released on the two previous occasions without being charged. | |
His latest arrest came as he was about to hold a press conference. | |
The US embassy in Uganda condemned the crackdown in a post on its Twitter account. | |
After Mr Besigye was briefly detained on Thursday, the US State Department said the arrest called into question "Uganda's commitment to a transparent and free election process". | After Mr Besigye was briefly detained on Thursday, the US State Department said the arrest called into question "Uganda's commitment to a transparent and free election process". |
It also criticised a temporary shutdown of social media, chat apps and mobile money services. | It also criticised a temporary shutdown of social media, chat apps and mobile money services. |
President Museveni said the decision had been taken for security reasons, and to prevent people from "telling lies". | President Museveni said the decision had been taken for security reasons, and to prevent people from "telling lies". |
There is a heavy deployment of police and soldiers in neighbourhoods around the headquarters of Mr Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, reports the BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga from Kampala. | There is a heavy deployment of police and soldiers in neighbourhoods around the headquarters of Mr Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, reports the BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga from Kampala. |
President Museveni currently leads with 62% of the vote, while Mr Beisgye has 33%, according to provisional results released by the electoral commission. | President Museveni currently leads with 62% of the vote, while Mr Beisgye has 33%, according to provisional results released by the electoral commission. |
Voting is still taking place in a handful of places where the late arrival of election materials meant that polling stations did not open on Thursday. | Voting is still taking place in a handful of places where the late arrival of election materials meant that polling stations did not open on Thursday. |
Commonwealth election observer mission head, Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo, condemned the failure of voting stations to open on time. | |
"Delays of three, four, five and even six hours, especially in Kampala, are absolutely inexcusable and will not inspire trust and confidence in the system and the process," he said. | "Delays of three, four, five and even six hours, especially in Kampala, are absolutely inexcusable and will not inspire trust and confidence in the system and the process," he said. |
A candidate needs to secure more than 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off with the second-ranked contender. | A candidate needs to secure more than 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off with the second-ranked contender. |
Ugandans also voted in parliamentary and local elections. | Ugandans also voted in parliamentary and local elections. |
Final results are expected by Saturday. | Final results are expected by Saturday. |
Major presidential contenders: | Major presidential contenders: |
Uganda election: Issues, candidates and the poll | Uganda election: Issues, candidates and the poll |
Uganda election: Old guard tries new tactics | Uganda election: Old guard tries new tactics |