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Uganda's longtime leader wins disputed presidential election

 
President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner.
President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner.
Published Feb. 21, 2016

KAMPALA, Uganda — Long-time Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the country's disputed presidential election Saturday, but his main rival rejected the results as fraudulent and called for an independent audit of the count.

Museveni got more than 60 percent of the votes; his nearest rival, Kizza Besigye, got 35 percent, according to final results announced by the election commission.

Besigye was under house arrest as Museveni was declared the winner, with heavily armed police standing guard near his residence on the outskirts of the capital, Kampala. In a video obtained by the Associated Press, Besigye said he rejects the results.

Besigye urged the international community to reject the official tally.

The capital was calm following the announcement of results amid a heavy security presence.

The voting on Thursday was marred by lengthy delays in the delivery of polling materials, some incidents of violence as well as a government shutdown of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, which remained inaccessible Saturday.