Uganda goes to the polls on Thursday, February 18, to elect a president amid fears of election-related violence [2]. President Yoweri Museveni, [3]who has been in power since 1986, is seeking a fifth term. (There are no presidential term limits in Uganda.) The main opposition candidates are Dr. Kizza Besigye [4] from the Forum for Democratic Change, who is running against Museveni for the fourth time, and Amama Mbabazi, [5] an independent candidate from the GoForward advocacy group. Both men are Museveni's previous allies, before he dismissed them (reportedly for harboring presidential ambitions).
Other candidates are Abed Bwanika [6], Benon Biraaro [7], Venansius Baryamureeba [8], Joseph Mabirizi [9], and the only woman running for president, Maureen Kyalya [10].
Ugandans will also vote in parliamentary and local elections on the same day.
Below is a brief Twitter guide for updates, news, analysis, and reports related to Uganda's elections this month:
Hashtags
Key hashtags to follow are #UgandaDecides [11], #IChoosePeaceUG [12], #GoForward2016 [13], #WesigeBesigye [14], #UGDebate16 [15], # [16]SteadyProgress [17], and #IPledgePeaceUG [18], which was launched [19] by the Young African Leadership Initiative Network (YALI) with support from the U.S. Embassy in Uganda.
Twitter users
- Solomon Serwanjj [20], Uganda investigative reporter
- TMS Ruge, [21]Co-founder of HiveColab, an innovation hub and startup incubator in Kampala, Uganda
- Rosebell Kagumire [22], Ugandan blogger and digital strategist
- Qatahar Raymond [23], Ugandan investigative reporter
- Daniel Kalinaki [24], Africa Editor at Nation Media Group
- Charles Onyango-Obbo [25], Editor Mail and Guardian Africa
- Angelo Izama [26], Ugandan analyst and blogger
- Prudence Nyamishana, [27]Ugandan communications specialist and Global Voices Author [28]
- Maurice Mugisha [29], head of news NTV Uganda
- Evelyn Namara [30], Ugandan social entrepreneur
- Andrew Mwenda [31], Ugandan journalist and political commentator
- Nduhukire [32], political reporter and anchor at NTV Uganda
- Alan Kasujja [33], BBC presenter in Uganda
- Catherine Byaruhanga [34], a Ugandan multi-media journalist
- ACME Uganda [35], The African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME)
- The Women's Situation Room Uganda (WSRU) [36], a platform for early warning and a rapid response mechanism against election related violence and conflict in Uganda
News media
- NBS Television [37]
- Daily Monitor newspaper [38]
- NTV Uganda [39]
- New Vision newspaper [40]
Presidential candidates
- Kizza Besigye [41], candidate for Forum for Democratic Change
- Maureen Kyalya [10], independent candidate
- Abed Bwanika [42], candidate for People's Development Party
- Amama Mbabazi [43], independent candidate under GoForward movement
- Yoweri Museveni [44], candidate for the ruling National Resistance Movement
- Venansius Baryamureeba [45], independent candidate
- Joseph Mabirizi [9], independent candidate
Uganda's Electoral Commission
- ECUganda [46], official Twitter account of the electoral commission
- Jotham Taremwa [47], Spokesperson of Uganda Electoral Commission