{"id":8676,"date":"2026-01-15T06:46:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8676"},"modified":"2026-01-15T06:46:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:46:47","slug":"polls-open-in-uganda-amid-crackdown-fears-of-violence-internet-blackout-elections-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8676","title":{"rendered":"Polls open in Uganda amid crackdown, fears of violence, internet blackout | Elections News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>UN Human Rights Office has stressed &#8216;open access to communication &amp; information is key to free &amp; genuine elections&#8217;.<\/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\/2024\/05\/2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.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 15 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">15 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>Uganda is on edge as polls have opened, with President Yoweri Museveni expected to extend his four-decade rule amid a police crackdown on the opposition, fears of violence and an internet shutdown.<\/p>\n<p>The East African nation is holding a contentious general election on Thursday after a Ugandan government regulatory body instructed mobile network operators to block public internet access, starting on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Polling stations were slow to open, as is usual in Uganda, but voting was under way shortly after 7am (04:00 GMT) in at least one Kampala suburb, AFP news agency journalists saw. There were heavy police and army patrols in the border town of Jinja, another AFP team said.<\/p>\n<p>Partial results are expected later in the day after polls close.<\/p>\n<p>More than 21.6 million voters have registered for the election. In a country where 70 percent of people are under age 35, high unemployment is a key issue for first-time voters.<\/p>\n<p>The local Daily Monitor newspaper ran a full-page on how to \u201celection-proof your home\u201d, advising citizens to reinforce doors and windows and designate a safe room in case of unrest.<\/p>\n<p>The United Nations Human Rights Office stressed on Wednesday that \u201copen access to communication &amp; information is key to free &amp; genuine elections\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll Ugandans must be able to take part in shaping their future &amp; the future of their country,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/UNHumanRights\/status\/2011436800292573693\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The government of Museveni, 81, has been accused of overseeing a years-long crackdown on its critics, arresting political opposition leaders and their supporters.<\/p>\n<p>Museveni is being challenged in Thursday\u2019s vote by pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, whose campaign rallies have been routinely disrupted by the Ugandan authorities.<\/p>\n<p>As with his 2021 campaign, hundreds of Bobi Wine\u2019s supporters have been arrested in the run-up to the vote. He has been wearing a flak jacket at rallies, describing the election as a \u201cwar\u201d and Museveni as a \u201cmilitary dictator\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are very aware that they are planning to rig the election, to brutalise people, to kill people, and they don\u2019t want the rest of the world to see,\u201d Bobi Wine told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2026\/01\/uganda-repression-and-impunity-impacting-right-participation-leadup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UN Human Rights Office<\/a> last week warned that Ugandans would be heading to the polls amid \u201cwidespread repression and intimidation against the political opposition, human rights defenders, journalists and those with dissenting views\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The Uganda Communications Commission defended the internet shutdown as necessary to curb \u201cmisinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UN Human Rights Office has stressed &#8216;open access to communication &amp; information is key to free &amp; genuine elections&#8217;. Published On 15 Jan 202615 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Uganda is on edge as polls have opened, with President Yoweri Museveni expected to extend his four-decade rule amid a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8676","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\/8676","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=8676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}