Uganda goes to the polls amid heavy security and internet blackout

Uganda goes to the polls amid heavy security and internet blackout Uganda goes to the polls amid heavy security and internet blackout Audio will be available later today. An armed Ugandan riot policeman patrols past campaign posters for longtime President Yoweri Museveni. Ben Curtis/AP hide caption toggle caption LAGOS, Nigeria - Millions of Ugandans are voting Thursday in a tense presidential election as 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni seeks to extend his four-decade grip on power. Museveni, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, faces a familiar challenger: 43-year-old pop star-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi, more widely known as Bobi Wine. This is a rematch of the 2021 election, when Museveni was declared the winner amid widespread allegations of fraud . Five other candidates are also running in this year's election, with 21.6 million registered voters expected to cast ballots. Heavy security and rising tension The vote is taking place under an internet blackout and a heavy military presence. Hundreds of activists have been detained, and journalists and human rights groups face restrictions, measures the government calls necessary for security. On Tuesday, the Uganda Communications Commission told mobile operators and internet service providers that the blackout was imposed on the "strong recommendations" of security agencies. "This temporary suspension is a precautionary intervention to ensure peace, protect national stability and prevent the misuse of communication platforms during a sensitive national exercise," the commission said in a letter. An entrenched leader For the seventh election in a row, Museveni's campaign has filled the streets of the capital, Kampala. At one of the final rallies before the vote, a marching band led thousands of supporters. Many wore yellow T-shirts and caps emblazoned with the insignia of the ruling National Resistance Movement - and images of the octogenarian president. A musician warms up his trumpet before performing for supporters of Uganda's incumbent president, Yoweri Museveni, ahead of his party's closing campaign rally. AFP/via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Addressing the crowd in his final rally on Tuesday, Museveni cut a weathered figure, listing achievements in infrastructure and security. After nearly 40 years in power, he argued that only his continued rule could preserve them. But in 1986, the year he came to power, Museveni made a different case. He wrote that "the problem of Africa in general, and Uganda in particular, is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power." Four decades on, those words echo back at him as Uganda - as well as a growing number of countries across the continent - grapples with the same challenge. The country has never experienced a peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders since gaining independence, making these elections especially consequential. A youthful electorate Uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world. An overwhelming majority of its 50 million people are under age 40 and have only ever known one president. Ugandan opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, who is known as Bobi Wine, waves to supporters at an election campaign rally in Mukono,...

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