KAMPALA, Uganda — President Yoweri Museveni has taken an early lead in Uganda’s presidential election as vote tallying continues across the country, according to provisional results released by the Electoral Commission (EC) on Friday morning.
Initial figures show Museveni, the candidate of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), securing 76.25 per cent of the vote, ahead of his closest challenger, National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Bobi Wine, who stands at 19.85 per cent.
Other candidates; Nandala Mafabi of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) stands at 2.08 per cent, Mugisha Gregory Muntu Oyera of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) at 0.57 per cent, Munyagwa Mubarak Sserunga of the Change for a Meaningful Presidency (CMP) stands at 0.28 per cent, Kasibante Robert of the National Progressive Party (NPP) stands at 0.3 per cent, Mabirizi Joseph of the Conservative Party (CP) stands at 0.21 per cent and Bulira Frank Kabinga of the Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP) trailing at 0.45 per cent.
The provisional results are drawn from returns at 133 polling stations as per 09:36 PM, 16th-Jan-2026 results, representing a fraction of Uganda’s more than 50,000 polling centres nationwide. Electoral officials cautioned that the figures remain subject to change as additional results are received, verified, and officially declared.
The early lead reflects voting patterns seen in previous elections, in which the 81-year-old president has historically performed strongly in initial tallies, particularly from rural constituencies.
The contest is a high-stakes rematch between Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, and Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, a 43-year-old former pop star-turned-politician who has mobilised large youth support in urban areas. Six other candidates are also in the race.
Voting disruptions and biometric failures
Thursday’s polling was marred by technical disruptions, after biometric voter verification kits failed at multiple polling stations across the country, delaying voting by several hours in some areas.
The challenges briefly affected even the president himself.
At his polling station, electronic voter identification machines failed to recognise Museveni’s fingerprints, temporarily preventing him from casting his ballot, an incident that mirrored the difficulties reported by thousands of voters nationwide.
“I put my right fingerprints on the machines, but it didn’t work. The machine did not accept it. I put my left fingerprints, but it did not accept it,” Museveni told journalists.
“It could be they took them in a different angle. But my face was scanned and accepted by the machine,” he said.
Electoral officials eventually verified the president’s identity using facial recognition technology, allowing him to vote.
The malfunction reignited concerns about the reliability of Uganda’s biometric voting system, with authorities in several areas authorising the use of manual voter registers to prevent disenfranchisement.
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Museveni said the failure of the system warranted further scrutiny.
“So, I don’t know if this was an oversight or part of the manipulation. But we shall study all the other factors. We are following it. We will find out why,” he said.
Security concerns and political tensions
The election has unfolded under heightened security, with opposition figures and rights groups accusing security forces of using violence and intimidation against opposition supporters.
Military spokesperson Col Chris Magezi dismissed the allegations, saying the deployment of security personnel was intended to deter unrest and maintain public order during the vote-counting process.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has urged patience as tallying continues, saying final results will be announced in accordance with the law once verification is complete.
