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02/26/2006:

"Uganda hit by violence as opposition claims election fraud"

Uganda is in turmoil after its opposition leader refused to accept the result of the country's general election which returned autocratic President Yoweri Museveni to power, claiming that fraud and intimidation hindered the poll.

Kizza Besigye, leader of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change, rejected the official results of the poll giving him 37 per cent of votes cast to Museveni's 59 per cent, as violence flared between his supporters and security forces in the capital, Kampala. European Union and independent Ugandan observers said the campaign and ballot had been blighted by government interference, spurious criminal charges laid against Besigye and problems with voter registration, and could not be described as a fair and free contest.

Besigye said he would not accept the official outcome of the poll - Uganda's first multi-party elections in 25 years - because of 'widespread irregularities'.

His agents' tallies at polling stations showed he had won 49 per cent of the votes to Museveni's 47 per cent, he said.

The campaign 'was marked by gross unfairness occasioned by the state which we did not consider to be an environment conducive to the free and fair expression of the Ugandan electorate', said Besigye.

'It is disgraceful that the government has chosen to abuse power and terrorise its opponents.'
guardian.co.uk