Uganda votes under internet blackout and polling delays

UGANDANS found polling stations still not open hours after voting started yesterday, as President Yoweri Museveni seeks to extend his 40-year rule amid an internet shutdown and a police crackdown on the opposition.

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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.