A 38-year-old singer is challenging Yoweri Museveni, 76, in one of the world’s youngest countries.

Robert Kyagulanyi, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, says he represents the country’s younger generation, while Mr Museveni says he is standing for stability.

Dozens of people have been killed in the run-up to the election.

What is the latest?

Polls were due to open at 07:00 local time (04:00 GMT) but voting was delayed in several areas.

Some polling stations did not open for close to two hours and voters in the queue had grown angry and had started shouting at the polling gate officials, the BBC’s Patience Atuhaire reports from the capital, Kampala.

She said the cause of the delay was not clear.

Reuters news agency reports that, at the six polling stations where their reporters observed delays, the ballot papers had not arrived.

Polls are due to close at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) but will remain open until everyone in the queue at the time of closing has voted, our correspondent adds.

Results are not expected before Saturday.

How will results be transmitted without the internet?

Coronavirus guidelines on social distancing and handwashing are proving hard to implement but here in Kibuli, which sits in the shadow of downtown Kampala, everyone queuing up is wearing facemasks.

There are reports that a new biometric system to verify people’s identities is not working in some areas. The electoral commission’s spokesperson would not confirm whether this was because the internet has been cut off.

There are questions about how results from around the country will be transmitted to the national tally centre in Kampala without the internet. The electoral commission told the BBC it has systems in place to do this but didn’t explain further.

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What security measures have been put in place?

Ugandan police promised they would deploy officers on rooftops of the capital Kampala on polling day, which they say comes after opposition activists commanded protests from rooftops in November, when more than 50 people were killed after Bobi Wine was arrested.

Earlier this week, Mr Museveni gave a stark warning.

“If you try to disturb peace, you will have yourself to blame. The security forces, following the law, are ready to deal with any troublemaker,” he said in a televised speech wearing military fatigues.

How bad was the violence during the campaign?

Violence has been at an unprecedented level.

Security forces cracked down on gatherings ahead of the election and dozens have been killed.

The government says the ban on gatherings was to prevent the spread of coronavirus while the opposition say it was a smokescreen for repression.

Bobi Wine and others out of the 10 opposition candidates have been arrested on several occasions.

Will the vote be free and fair?

It depends who you ask.

The government has previously said the election would be free and fair.

But the US cast doubt over the electoral process and withdrew its election observers after most of its accreditation requests were denied.

In response, Mr Museveni’s spokesman Don Wanyama tweeted that there were observers from the African Union and East African Community.

“I don’t remember when Uganda last sent election observers to the US,” he added.

Bobi Wine has called on voters to remain at polling stations on Thursday and use their mobile phone cameras to record the tallying process in an effort to prevent vote rigging.

Who is Yoweri Museveni?

Mr Museveni is standing for a sixth elected term in office, as leader of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

He came to power on the back of an armed uprising in 1986 and has long been depicted to Ugandans as a liberator and peace bringer.

But he has managed to maintain his grip on power through a mixture of encouraging a personality cult, employing patronage, compromising independent institutions and sidelining opponents, says the BBC’s Patience Atuhaire.

Who is Bobi Wine?

Bobi Wine is widely thought to be the strongest of the 10 opposition candidates in the presidential race.

The 38-year-old reggae star is known by his supporters as the ghetto president.

His party, the National Unity Platform (NUP) party campaigns for basic needs like improving access to healthcare, education, clean water and justice.

Over the last two decades Bobi Wine’s musical output has been filled with songs about these issues and they have inspired a fervent following.

He grew up in Kampala’s Kamwokya slum where he went on to build his now world-famous recording studio.

The move comes two days ahead of the country’s presidential election which will see one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, Yoweri Museveni, against opposition front runner and popular singer Bobi Wine.

What happened?

Uganda’s communications regulator (UCC) ordered the country’s internet service providers to block all social media platforms until further notice, according to a letter seen by news agencies AFP and Reuters.

The letter told telecommunications firms to “immediately suspend any access and use” of the apps and sites.

Both Reuters and AFP cited sources saying the government made it clear that the ban was in retaliation for Facebook’s decision to delete some government-linked accounts.

Facebook said it removed the accounts for seeking to manipulate public debate ahead of the election, adding that they were tied to the Ministry for Information and Technology.

What platforms have been affected?

Users in the East African country said on Tuesday that they were unable to access WhatsApp and Facebook and Twitter.

Social media and messaging services have been key tools used by all parties to campaign in Uganda.

Violence ahead of election

Some 18 million Ugandans are registered to vote on Thursday in presidential and parliamentary elections.

Scores of people were killed in violence ahead of the election and crackdowns on opposition rallies.

While election monitors have been prosecuted, government critics have been jailed and journalists reporting on opposition rallies have been attacked.

Museveni, a 76-year-old former guerrilla leader who seized power in 1986, is looking to secure a sixth term. Critics say the veteran leader has abused his position to silence the opposition.

Longtime leader Yoweri Museveni (L) and popstar turned candidate Bobi Wine (R)

Wine is the frontrunner among 10 opposition candidates challenging Museveni.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has gained a large following among young people in Uganda, where 80% of the population is under 30.

Earlier on Tuesday, Wine said soldiers raided his home and arrested his security guards while he was doing a live radio interview.

Uganda’s military and police force have not yet commented on Wine’s claims.

The resolution was reached on Tuesday afternoon during the five day retreat of CEC at Chobe Safari Lodge in Nwoya district. This means that Museveni who has been Uganda president since 1986 after shooting his way to power, will now contest for a sixth term in office. He will be 76 years old in 2021. He controversially won the last election with 60.75% of the votes with his closest rival Kizza Besigye getting 35%.
NRM senior information manager Rogers Mulindwa said in a statement that CEC has once again endorsed Museveni to run as the party’s sole candidate.

In the 2016 presidential elections, the party endorsed Museveni as the sole presidential candidate after Amama Mbabazi, the then party secretary general expressed interest in contesting against Museveni. Mbabazi was subsequently forced out the party.

“To emphatically recommend to the membership of the movement and its organs that His Excellency Yoweri Museveni our leader and General of the African Resistance, continues leading the Movement and the State in 2021 and beyond- as we eliminate the bottlenecks to transformation,” reads part of the statement.

Mulindwa notes that the party’s top organ also made several directives to government for urgent changes among, which are to expeditiously study the multiple requirements of operationalizing the parish model and proceed with implementation without delay. The model is envisaged to help transform 68 per cent households that are still involved in substance farming.

“The party directs the government to significantly recapitalize the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) in the new financial year, to enable the bank to play a more vigorous and central role in providing affordable credit for transformative effort,” further reads the statement.

Mulindwa says that the re-capitalization of UDB shall include relocating the Agricultural Credit Facility from Bank of Uganda to UDB. CEC also directed government to urgently revisit the legal and administrative regime for environmental conservation, as part of a fundamental push to roll back and mitigate the effects of climate change.

It also wants government to urgently revisit the reform of the land legal regime that they say creates unacceptable obstacles to national development. Meanwhile, CEC wants NRM to expeditiously ensure the instruction in patriotism straight from primary to universities and other tertiary institutions.

It also seeks to invest massively in the development, consolidation and dissemination of its ideological line as well as the systematic mentorship of its cadre-ship.

“NRM cadres should appreciate & internalize the need for appropriate strategy & tactics at every phase of the struggle for the fundamental socio-economic transformation of Uganda and Africa,” reads the statement.

CEC also tasks its members to sensitise and mobilise Ugandans to work together for the political and economic integration of East Africa as well as the consolidation of an African common market.