[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Uganda on Thursday rejected a legal challenge to the presidential election held in February which resulted in President Yoweri Museveni [campaign website] being re-elected to a fifth term in office. Opposing candidate Amama Mbabazi [campaign website], who finished in third place in the election, accused [NYT report] the electoral commission of producing false results and demanded recounts in at least 40 districts. Mbabazi pointed to several irregularities, including manipulation of the polls in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, and the absence of election results from its metropolitan area. The court, however, found that Mbabazi’s claims of irregularities were unsupported by substantial evidence and did not prove that the election results were affected. Mbabazi’s legal challenge was supported by the EU and the US. The Uganda American Embassy [official website] responded to the decision on social media [Facebook statement] by noting that the government will hopefully move towards reforming the flawed electoral commission in the future. Though Museveni may hold a fifth term, he will not be allowed to participate in Uganda’s next election since he is approaching the 75-year age limit.

Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, belongs to the ruling National Resistance Movement [party website] party. Last month the UN rights office expressed concern [JURIST report] over violence and arrests that erupted on the day of Museveni’s re-election. Museveni has been accused of being an authoritarian since he took office by force in 1986, using security forces to retain power. His government has also been criticized for proposing an anti-homosexuality bill, limiting public gatherings and not allowing [JURIST reports] for an independent judiciary. In January Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] reported that the use of force and intimidation of Ugandan authorities limited the chances [JURIST report] of the election being fair and unbiased