Bobi Wine rejects Museveni lead in Uganda poll as 'complete sham'

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has claimed victory in presidential elections, rejecting as a "complete sham" early results that gave incumbent President Yoweri Museveni a substantial lead.

The 38-year-old former singer and politician said his party's polling agents were beaten and chased away in parts of northern and western Uganda, that ballot boxes were opened and stuffed, and that some voters were given ballot papers for the parliamentary election only.

Seventy-six-year-old Museveni is seeking a sixth term after almost four decades in power, and the youthful Wine has emerged his main rival in a country where most have known only one president.

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The internet remained down for a third day as vote counting continued after Thursday's poll, with provisional results from 29 percent of polling stations giving Museveni an early lead of 63.9 percent while Wine trailed with 28 percent.

"I am very confident that we defeated the dictator by far. I call upon all Ugandans to reject the blackmail. We have certainly won the election and we've won it by far," Wine told journalists.

"Whatever is being declared is a complete sham we reject it and we dissociate ourselves from it."

List of irregularities will be provided

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, listed a host of irregularities in different districts and promised to provide video evidence once the internet is restored.

He said he would announce a strategy in coming hours

Election commission chairman Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama said he did "not appreciate the assertion that these results we are reading out are rigged."

"The onus is on candidate Kyagulanyi to show how votes are rigged."

On Friday morning the capital Kampala was quiet and some businesses remained closed, while soldiers and police patrolled on foot.

Full results are expected by Saturday afternoon.