Sawt Falasteen - Uganda votes under internet blackout and polling delays

Museveni, 81, is widely expected to win a seventh term in office thanks to his total control of the state and security apparatus.

The former bush fighter faces a concerted challenge from singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43, who styles himself the "ghetto president" after his stronghold in the slums of the capital, Kampala.

There was a chaotic start, with voting still not underway in multiple areas more than two hours after polls were due to open.

AFP journalists saw some people casting ballots after long delays, but biometric machines meant to verify voters' identity were malfunctioning in many areas, with rumours the problem may be linked to an internet blackout imposed by the government two days earlier.

"We are seeing a delay in opening of the polling stations. There is failure of the kit that is meant to identity voters," an election observer in the eastern city of Jinja told AFP.

A ruling party official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the problem was widespread.

"Some biometric machines are not working. I don't know if it's the internet," he said.

Despite repeated promises that it would not do so, the government shut down the internet on Tuesday for an indefinite period to prevent the spread of "misinformation" and "incitement to violence".

Wine's lawyer George Musisi, also a parliamentary candidate, told AFP the polling delays were "deliberate to ensure that voter turnout is very low".

But the problems appeared to be occurring across pro-government and opposition areas.

"I am worried," said Katomgole Juma, a 48-year-old artisan waiting to vote under a huge poster of Museveni in central Kampala. "People will be upset because they won't be certain of the result."

- Repression -

As with his 2021 campaign, hundreds of Wine's supporters have been arrested in the run-up to the vote. He wore a flak jacket at rallies, describing the election as a "war" and Museveni as a "military dictator".

"We are very aware that they are planning to rig the election, to brutalise people, to kill people, and they don't want the rest of the world to see," Wine told AFP on the eve of election day.

The United Nations called the internet shutdown "deeply worrying". Wine has vowed protests if the vote is rigged.

The other major opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, who ran four times against Museveni, was abducted in Kenya in 2024 and brought back to a military court in Uganda for a treason trial that is ongoing.

Many Ugandans still praise Museveni as the man who ended the country's post-independence chaos and oversaw rapid economic growth, even if much was lost to a relentless string of massive corruption scandals.

"Peace and security in the country is very good. The party is well-organised," said Angee Abraham Lincoln, 42, a Museveni supporter waiting to cast his vote in Kampala.

Western countries have often given Museveni leeway after he swallowed their demands for neoliberal reforms in the 1980s and made himself a useful partner in the US-led "war on terror" in the 2000s, especially through troop contributions to Somalia.

The president struck a forceful tone ahead of the election, saying: "Go and vote. Anybody who wants to interfere with your freedom, I will crush them."

There was a heavy security presence in many areas, and police have warned the vote was "not a justification for criminal acts", seeking to prevent the anti-government protests seen in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania in recent months.

Journalists have been harassed and Human Rights Watch has denounced the suspension of 10 NGOs, including election monitors, saying the opposition has faced "brutal repression".

G.AbuGhazaleh--SF-PST