Thursday, 18 February 2016
Uganda election: Facebook and Whatsapp blocked
Long queues formed outside polling stations
Social media has been blocked in Uganda on the day of presidential elections to stop people "telling lies", President Yoweri Museveni has said.
Mr Museveni, 71, is seeking to extend his 30-year rule, in a race widely seen as the tightest in the East African state's history.
His main rival Kizza Besigye was briefly detained.
A foreign observer group condemned the blockage of social media and lengthy delays in opening voting booths.
Interviewed on TV about social media, Mr Museveni said: "Some people misuse those pathways. You know how they misuse them - telling lies.
"If you want a right then use it properly."
Many people have found a way around the controversial restrictions, including opposition candidate Amama Mbabazi who tweeted advice on how to do it:
A VPN - a Virtual Private Network - gets round government censorship by redirecting your internet activity to a computer in a different country.
Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and mobile money services have been blocked.
Despite this, #UgandaDecides has been trending on Twitter.
Commonwealth election observer mission head Olusegun Obasanjo said: "It is ill advised if anyone has blocked social media".
Condemning the failure of voting stations to open on time, he said: "Delays of three, four, five and even six hours, especially in Kampala, are absolutely inexcusable and will not inspire trust and confidence in the system and the process".
The electoral commission said difficulties in transporting electoral materials caused the delays
Voters surround a policeman trying to keep hold of electral materials at a station in the outskirts of Kampala
The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga in the capital, Kampala, reports that crowds were angry after waiting several hours to vote and police used teargas to disperse them.
Voting has been cancelled at at least two polling stations after clashes with police and accusations of fake ballots being distributed.
Mr Besigye, was arrested after he demanded access to a house in Kampala where he believed vote rigging was taking place, said Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, spokesman for his FDC party.
He is among seven opposition candidates hoping to end Mr Museveni's 30-year rule.
A candidate needs to secure more than 50% of the vote to win outright and avoid a run-off with the second-ranked contender.
Ugandans are also voting in parliamentary and local elections.
Source: bbc news
Uganda’s Opposition Leader, Dr. Kizza Besigye has been arrested again
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye, has been arrested again.
Sources say that Besigye was taken into custody on Thursday evening after he and his supporters demanded to access a house in Kampala where they suspect rigging was taking place.
It is further alleged that the occupants of the house tried to escape through the back but they were stopped by the police and found carrying guns.
Besigye’s latest arrest comes just three days after the police nabbed him Uganda’s capital of Kampala where he was holding his last rally ahead of today’s polls.
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