Uganda election update: Incumbent president Museveni leading in ballot count

The ballots that have been counted in the election in Uganda now exceeds 80 percent and the majority of the votes are for incumbent president Yoweri Museveni. 

According to a report by the BBC, Museveni has so far garnered 61 percent while opponent Kizza Besigye gained 34 percent, with the official results expected be known in several hours. Should Musevani win this race, his stay in office, which started in 1986, will be extended.

Uganda's election day, Feb. 18, shocked many constituents when the government ordered to block social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. The Daily Monitor reported that the Uganda Communications Commission's (UCC) Director of Corporate Affairs Fred Otunnu confirmed this temporary block out was due to national security issues.

According to CNN, Museveni also explained that the media block was a "security measure to avert lies ... intended to incite violence and illegal declaration of election results."

There were delays in some voting stations so the voters in the affected areas were allowed to vote until 7 p.m. The Electoral Commission apologized through its Twitter account and reported that the delay was due to the "late delivery of electoral material." Moreover, voting in other polling stations were suspended as well.

Other mobile money networks were also ordered to temporarily shut down. MTN and Airtel networks' subscribers were greatly affected with this shut off because mobile money transfer is very famous in Uganda. Both networks have millions of users.

On the other hand, presidential rival candidate Besigye was briefly put to jail on election day. Besigye was brought to the prison in Kasangati, near Kampala. A local police, Patrick Onyango, told CNN that Besigye was arrested for keeping illegal materials for election.

Another candidate who was arrested was the Mayor of Kampala, Erias Lukwago.

Reuters reported that Washington State Department spokesman John Kirby said "it called into question Uganda's commitment to a transparent election, free from intimidation." 

After 30 years, Museveni, 71, is still aspiring to rule his fifth term. Their constitution was revised to enable him to prolong his term. 

This term extension is common now in Africa. The constitution in Rwanda was changed to grant its leader to retain its position until 2034. Such is the case in Burundi where the president was allowed to extend up to the third term.