Ugandans await election results after polls close on Thursday

Polls closed in Uganda on Thursday after long delays caused by technical breakdowns as President Yoweri Museveni seeks re-election. Official results are due within 48 hours.

In many polling stations around the country, voting was delayed by several hours as ballot boxes were slow to arrive and biometric machines – used to verify voters' identity – were malfunctioning, which some blamed on internet shutdown.

The government said the internet shutdown was needed to prevent the spread of "misinformation."

The Thursday voting passed off peacefully, a spokesperson for the Ugandan Red Cross, which deployed across the country ahead of polls, told AFP. There was a heavy police and army presence throughout the day.

Museveni experiences challenges with the voting machine

Museveni acknowledged even he experienced challenges with the voting machines and promised to investigate.

"I put my right... thumbprint. The machine did not accept it. I put my left, it did not accept it," he told journalists, adding that the machine finally accepted a scan of his face, allowing him to vote.

The president said his vote was for anyone "who believes in Uganda... who believes in Africa."

Museveni is facing off against 43-year-old musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine, his former challenger in the 2021 presidential election.