Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has raised concerns over what he says is “deliberate” delay by some Electoral Commission (EC) officials in sending biometric data.

This comes after EC Chairperson Simon Byabakama directed polling stations across the landlocked nation to revert to manual voting after large-scale failure of biometric voter verification machines.

While casting his vote mid-morning Thursday, January 15 at Kaaro Secondary School in Kiruhura District, western Uganda, President Museveni said investigations will be launched to understand the widespread failures of the machines.

“They had a problem of voter verification machines. It works. But first, it didn’t accept my fingerprints because I think when they took them, they had a different angle, but when my face [was scanned), the machine recognized me,” Museveni said, as reported by Uganda Broadcasting Corporation.

“Some people in the EC did not send the particulars of the operators to the machines. Some of them, even by this morning, had not sent their biodata. Was this deliberate? We’re going to check that,” Museveni, who is seeking his seventh term in office, added.

Voter manipulation?

The Daily Monitor reports that the voter verification machines caused delays of more than four hours, especially in Kampala, a perceived stronghold of opposition candidate Bobi Wine.

But when asked if he will accept the outcome of the election, 81-year-old Museveni read mischief in the whole mishap. He did not give a definite answer to the question.

“This is one of the manipulations we have to find out why… what was the problem? So, we don’t know if this was just oversight or part of manipulation, but we shall study all other factors.”

Museveni added: “I checked this morning and they told me the machines are working in some places and not others by 10 a.m. The EC proposed that we vote manually and I accepted because people could not just walk home.”

Museveni’s opponents

Museveni, of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), is battling it out with seven other candidates, in a bid to retain a seat he has occupied since 1986.

Others are; opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Mugisha Muntu Oyera of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Nathan Nandala Mafabi of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Joseph Elton Mabirizi of the Conservative Party (CP), Robert Kasibante of the National Peasants Party, Mubarak Munyagwa Sserunga of the Common Man’s Party (CMP), and Frank Bulira Kabinga of the Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP).