WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement regarding the ongoing electoral process in Uganda:

“Since the people of Uganda went to the polls yesterday, I have been deeply concerned by the government’s decision to block social media sites and by reports of pre-marked ballots and inflated tallies in some of the voting stations. These are affronts to a free and fair electoral process.  I am likewise dismayed by reports that presidential candidate Kizza Besigye was arrested and that the home of another candidate, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, was surrounded by security forces. I call upon both incumbent President Yoweri Museveni and the opposition to refrain from violence in order to mitigate tensions during this electoral process.”

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