President Yoweri Museveni has provided more details to his revelations of electoral fraud in Uganda’s 2021 general elections, saying that the opposition printed and imported fake ballot papers which were used to manipulate millions of votes, particularly in Kampala.
Speaking while reflecting on the conduct of the 2021 polls on Wednesday, Museveni alleged that the opposition printed one million fake ballot papers locally and imported an additional 1.7 million ballots from Dubai, culminating in what he described as the theft of 2.7 million votes.
“In the 2021 elections, the opposition printed one million fake ballot papers from Nkurumah Road, imported 1.7 million fake ballots from Dubai, and cheated with 2.7 million votes in Kampala,” Museveni said.
The President faulted the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and state actors for failing to adequately protect votes after they were cast, describing the alleged fraud as a lapse in vigilance rather than a lack of popular support.
Museveni argued that weaknesses in post-voting safeguards, including ballot handling, tallying, and transmission — were exploited by political opponents, allowing what he termed as organised electoral manipulation in urban centres.
The claims come amid renewed calls within the ruling party for tighter election-day supervision, enhanced mobilisation structures, and reforms aimed at safeguarding ballots at polling stations and during vote counting.
Opposition leaders have in the past strongly rejected allegations of vote rigging, instead accusing the government and security agencies of electoral malpractice, voter intimidation, and manipulation of results.
The latest remarks are likely to reignite debate over the credibility of the votes garnered by the opposition in the 2021 elections as political actors position themselves ahead of January polls.
Museveni will face off with Bobi Wine in next month’s polls and six other candidates.
