Yoweri Museveni Wins 7th Term as Uganda President with 7.9 Million Votes

Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has secured his seventh term in office, the Ugandan Electoral Commission announced on Saturday, January 17.

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate won with 71.65% of the total votes cast, translating to 7,946,772 votes in elections that were closely watched both locally and internationally.

“The Commission now proceeds to declare the results of the presidential elections in accordance with section 59 of the Presidential Elections Act,” said Commission Chairperson Simon Byabakama.

Byabakama officially declared,

“Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, having obtained the highest number of votes in the elections and more than 50% of the votes cast, is hereby declared the duly elected president of the Republic of Uganda for the next five years.”

Museveni’s main challenger, National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, came second with 2,741,238 votes, representing 24.72% of the total ballots. Bobi Wine had earlier rejected the provisional results, describing them as a “massive fraud.”

The elections were held on Thursday, January 15, across 146 districts, which also voted for Members of Parliament. Museveni’s support came largely from long-term beneficiaries of his 40-year rule, while Bobi Wine drew backing primarily from urban youth seeking change.

The president-elect’s manifesto, titled “Protecting the Gains and Securing a Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status,” promises to consolidate Uganda’s previous achievements and transition the country toward a high-productivity economy.