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Second Ugandan opposition candidate to challenge Museveni in Feb 2016 vote
Uganda's former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi arrives to attend a gathering in Jinja town in eastern Uganda, September 10, 2015. PHOTO BY REUTERS/James Akena
05/11/2015
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda's electoral commission on Wednesday certified the candidacy of the second of two major challengers to veteran leader Yoweri Museveni's bid to extend his three decades in office, and set the vote for Feb. 18 of next year.
Museveni, 71, in power since 1986, is one of Africa's longest-ruling leaders. His critics accuse him of wanting to be president for life and of grooming his son, army brigadier Kainerugaba Muhoozi, to succeed him, charges he denies.
Museveni has touted his role in leading Uganda to strong economic growth and a measure of political stability after years of turmoil.
Opposition leaders had initially planned to challenge Museveni as a coalition, but were unable to unite behind a single candidate.
Instead, Museveni will face ally-turned-rival Amama Mbabazi as well as long-time opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, in the 2016 vote.
Mbabazi, a former prime minister who originally stood against Museveni as a candidate for the nomination of Uganda's ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), had his candidacy on an independent ticket accepted on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the electoral commission accepted the candidacy of Besigye, who has been nominated by Uganda's largest opposition party, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
"The institutions we have today...are not the institutions of the people of Uganda. They are the institutions of the people who wield the power in our country. They are institutions of the dictatorship, unfortunately," Besigye told a campaign rally on Wednesday. "This campaign is about changing that."
(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Edith Honan)
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