KAMPALA — Ugandans began voting on Thursday in presidential and parliamentary elections, a key test of President Yoweri Museveni’s decades-long rule.

Voting began in the capital Kampala amid a heavy police presence. Many polling stations around the country, however, had still not opened hours after the official 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) start, NTV Uganda reported.

The delays have been blamed on failures of biometric identification kits, which some have linked to the network outage, as well as a lack of equipment in some places.

Seeking a seventh term, 81-year-old Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986. He faces seven challengers, including 43-year-old opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, a popular reggae star-turned politician. He came second in the 2021 election.

The longtime leader has campaigned on a slogan of "protecting the gains", vowing to maintain peace and lift the country into middle-income status, even as speculation swirls about his eventual succession.

The authorities cut internet access across the country on Tuesday in order to curb what they called "misinformation" about the election, leading many Ugandans to turn to an offline messaging app launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Casting his ballot in the Kasangati township, Ronald Tenywa, a 45-year-old university researcher, complained that political leaders "cling on for a long time".

“If we vote for someone who cares, things will be better for Uganda,” he said, without specifying for whom he was voting.

Opposition candidate Bobi Wine told Anadolu before the polls on Wednesday that the internet shutdown is being used to block communication and as a way of compromising the vote.

Election commission chief Simon Byabakama told local media outlets on Tuesday that he would declare the results within 48 hours of the close of polls, in accordance with the laws of the land.

“What the voters will say is what I will declare to the nation, it is them who determine the president of the country, not me” he said.

In parts of Kampala and surrounding areas, people formed long lines at polling stations, although voting was delayed, awaiting voting materials to arrive.

The East African country’s presidential election uses a two-round system, with a runoff held if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote.

Uganda’s parliament has 556 members, including 353 directly elected lawmakers, 146 district woman representatives, 30 members from the army, youth, workers, older persons, and people with disabilities, and 27 ex officio members, including the vice-president and ministers, who cannot vote.

About 21.6 million voters have been registered for the election, up from 18.1 million in 2021.

The campaign period has included restrictions on rallies and media coverage, with security measures deployed nationwide.

Voting in the general election is taking place amid restrictions on public communications imposed for the election period.

According to a notification dated Tuesday, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) ordered a “temporary suspension” of public internet access and selected mobile services during the election period.

The regulator said the suspension, which began at 6 pm local time (1500GMT) on Tuesday, was intended to “safeguard public safety, critical national functions, and the operational integrity of communications infrastructure.”

The UN human rights office said on Wednesday that the suspension of 10 non-governmental organizations and restrictions on internet access ahead of the elections are “deeply worrying.” — Agencies