Election Day

The country's capital - except for polling stations - was dead on February 18th. No threats of violence, no traffic. It was Kampala as it should be. My curiosity got the best of me by eleven and I called my driver to whisk me down to Kireka, a polling locale already showcased on local TV all morning. In five minutes I was in the fray, watching lines wrap around pines and palms. Up on a hill, five women sat idly in traditional dresses. The youngest and tallest of the group seemed to be privy to the know and immediately found me with questions about the process.
"How's it going?" I asked. "Did you vote?"
She showed me her thumbnail, inked in black felt.
"My mother didn't vote. Her name wasn't on the list here. Or in Banda."

Her plight, and that of many others, was showcased at this polling station - and others like it - all day long across Uganda. Here are some shots of the proceedings as they happened in one section of Kampala.

Kireka's polling station as lines flow by alphabet

Man in charge - and I use that term loosely - at this polling station as reporter waits to find out the scoop on all the chaos

The voting "booth"

The mark of proof: local woman shows me she has voted

This man had been to 10 polling stations without finding his name on the registry

Bored soldiers stand watch over popular mall on election day

Museveni posters could be seen all over the country

Museveni supporters rally the day before the election in Kampala's center

Normally jammed city streets were nearly vacant on election day

UBC radio host's Frank and Barbara invited me into the studio to listen to election results and interviews.