{"id":8491,"date":"2026-01-13T20:11:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8491"},"modified":"2026-01-13T20:11:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:11:48","slug":"uganda-cuts-internet-days-before-presidential-election-elections-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8491","title":{"rendered":"Uganda cuts internet days before presidential election | Elections News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The blackout comes as President Yoweri Museveni, criticised for cracking down on opponents, vies for his seventh term.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dream-1820-1756620243.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 13 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">13 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Ugandan authorities have imposed a nationwide internet blackout days before presidential elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is expected to prolong his 40-year rule.<\/p>\n<p>A government regulatory body instructed mobile network operators to block public internet access starting at 6pm (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday. Internet monitor NetBlocks later confirmed a \u201cnation-scale disruption to internet connectivity\u201d.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The network outage has\u00a0heightened concerns about repression in the run-up to the January 15 vote, in which 81-year-old Museveni, Africa\u2019s third-longest-serving leader, is being challenged\u00a0by pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"musevni-s-re-election-all-but-locked-down\">Musevni\u2019s re-election \u2018all but locked down\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Ugandan security personnel have rounded up hundreds of opposition supporters in advance of the vote and repeatedly fired live bullets and tear gas at pro-Wine campaign rallies. Meanwhile, opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who challenged Museveni in four previous elections, is jailed on charges of treason.<\/p>\n<p>The United Nations Human Rights Office has criticised Uganda\u2019s authorities for creating an environment of \u201cwidespread repression and intimidation\u201d before the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Brussels-based International Crisis Group has assessed that Museveni, \u201cwith his firm grip on the levers of state power \u2026 has re-election all but locked down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wine views his candidacy as a campaign \u201cagainst impunity,\u201d reported Al Jazeera\u2019s Catherine Soi from Kampala, Uganda. But \u201che doesn\u2019t believe that he is going to get a free or fair election.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"government-bans-two-ngos-from-operating\">Government bans two NGOs from operating<\/h2>\n<p>Museveni\u2019s government said security forces are acting to stop what it described as lawless conduct by opposition supporters. The Uganda Communications Commission defended the internet shutdown as necessary to \u201ccurb \u201cmisinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to cutting off the internet, the government on Tuesday ordered two local rights groups that have been critical of authorities \u2013 Chapter Four Uganda and Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda \u2013 to halt their work.<\/p>\n<p>The state-run National Bureau for NGOs accused Chapter Four Uganda of engaging in activities \u201cprejudicial\u201d to Uganda\u2019s security and \u201cshould cease operations \u2026 with immediate effect\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Kristof Titeca, a Uganda expert based at Antwerp University, said the government\u2019s clampdown has made it \u201ctoo dangerous\u201d for the opposition to effectively organise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe price people have to pay for engaging in political opposition has become very high,\u201d said Titeca.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4236215\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4236215\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4236215\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2026-01-13T143756Z_2108197221_RC2C0JAIICX9_RTRMADP_3_UGANDA-ELECTION-1768326097.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C500&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Supporters of Uganda's President and the leader of ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, Yoweri Museveni, ride their bikes along the street before attending his campaign rally in Kampala, Uganda January 13, 2026. REUTERS\/Michael Muhati\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4236215\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Uganda\u2019s President Yoweri Museveni head to a campaign rally in Kampala, Uganda, January 13 [Michael Muhati\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Uganda also blocked internet access during its last election in 2021 \u2013 a vote marred by reports of state violence and electoral manipulation. Authorities had repeatedly promised the internet would remain available this time, saying as recently as January 5 that \u201cclaims suggesting otherwise are false, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary fear and tension among the public\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Museveni and Wine, six other candidates are running for president in the East African nation of roughly 45 million people. Electoral authorities say there are 21.6 million registered voters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The blackout comes as President Yoweri Museveni, criticised for cracking down on opponents, vies for his seventh term. Published On 13 Jan 202613 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Ugandan authorities have imposed a nationwide internet blackout days before presidential elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is expected to prolong [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}