Bobi Wine allowed to contest elections

Uganda’s Electoral Commission has cleared octogenarian President Yoweri Museveni to seek re-election in polls scheduled for early next year, potentially extending his rule to nearly half a century, reports RFI. His rival, Bobi Wine, was also cleared on Wednesday. Yoweri will thus stand in the January 2026 elections, despite his nearly 40-year rule, having been in power since 1986. His party, the governing National Resistance Movement, had officially confirmed him in June as its presidential candidate. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is a singer who has leveraged pop stardom to galvanise a large support base among young voters. Museveni defeated Wine in 2021 by a wide margin, though Wine said his victory was stolen through ballot stuffing, intimidation by security forces and other irregularities. The President's opponents have long accused him of using state patronage and the military to maintain his grip on power, and of using kidnappings and torture against adversaries, claims he denies. In May, Museveni's son, who is also Uganda's military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, admitted to holding a missing opposition activist in his basement while threatening that Wine would be next.