Uganda's opposition urges protests over polls
By Barry Malone and Elias Biryabarema
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda's opposition leader called for peaceful anti-government protests and a re-run of last week's disputed presidential poll on Thursday, but the authorities said demonstrations would not be tolerated.
Kizza Besigye said last week's presidential and parliamentary polls were a sham due to widespread bribery, ballot box stuffing and military intimidation.
"We therefore make a call to action. The time is now for the people of Uganda to rise and peacefully protest against the outcome of the 2011 elections," Besigye, leader of the Inter-Party Cooperation coalition, told a news conference.
After unsuccessfully appealing to the Supreme Court to overturn the results of the previous two polls -- which the court acknowledged had been marred by rigging and violence against the opposition -- Besigye says he has lost faith in the judicial system.
A police spokeswoman said it was too risky to permit demonstrations against incumbent President Yoweri Museveni's election to a fourth term in office.
"We can't allow them to demonstrate, there's already enough tension", police spokeswoman Judith Nabakoba told Reuters.
Clashes between opposition supporters and security forces could rattle the currency -- which tumbled against the dollar before the polls on fears violence could flare up -- and unnerve investors in east Africa's third largest economy.
Electoral commission results handed Museveni 68 percent of the vote, with Besigye trailing on 26 percent. Continued...

