Voters in Uganda face soldiers in the street as they prepare to go to the polls in an election that could see President Yoweri Museveni extend his decades in power.
Previous contests have been marred by allegations of fraud, and an internet shutdown on Tuesday was met with dismay from pro-democracy activists.
Analysts say Mr Museveni will almost certainly stay in power, despite facing a challenge from the musician-turned-politician best known as Bobi Wine, who represents those yearning for change.
At 81 years old, the president has become ever more reliant on Uganda’s security forces to keep him in the position he has held since 1986.
His son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba is the military’s top commander and is viewed as the presumptive heir.
Mr Wine has accused the military of interfering in the electoral process.
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Why has the internet been shut down?
On Tuesday, less than 48 hours before the start of the voting, the Uganda Communications Commission directed internet service providers to temporarily suspend the general public’s access to the internet, as well as the sale and registration of new SIM cards.
The agency said this was “necessary to mitigate the rapid spread of online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud, and related risks”.
This was a blow to pro-democracy activists and people who would use the internet to share information about alleged election threats including ballot stuffing and other practices that are alleged to routinely plague Uganda’s contests.
Mr Wine’s party, the National Unity Platform, has urged followers to remain near polling stations and be watchful after voting as part of an effort to prevent rigging.
“We implore everyone to use their cameras and record anything irregular,” he said on social media.
Electoral officials, however, are urging Ugandans to cast their ballots and then return home, perhaps coming back later to witness vote counting.
The argument about polling stations has raised fears of violence if security forces choose to enforce the guidance from the electoral body.
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Who is Bobi Wine?
Before getting into politics, Mr Wine was a famous pop star in the East African country.
He won a seat in the national assembly in 2017 before running for the presidency in 2021 – losing to Mr Museveni in an election he claimed was rigged against him.
He is especially popular among young Ugandans in urban areas.
In 2024 he was shot in the leg after a confrontation with security agents, his party said.
Videos posted online showed Mr Wine surrounded by followers who shouted that he had been shot in the leg before some supported him into a waiting car.
Who is the six-time president Yoweri Museveni?
Mr Museveni is seeking his seventh term in office after coming to power in 1986 on a wave of optimism due to his earlier roles in insurgencies against autocratic governments, including those of Idi Amin and Milton Obote.
After seizing power, he said: “The problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power.”
In 2005, parliament scrapped presidential term limits, in a move critics said was designed to let Mr Museveni stay in power for life.
His tenure has been dogged by public anger over alleged corruption and Western claims of election irregularities, but he has been unrepentant, once saying: “If the international community has lost confidence in us, then that is a compliment because they are habitually wrong.”
