Ugandan president says to hand over power if loses 2016 elections

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday said he has no intention of clinging on to power if he loses next year's elections.

Museveni told reporters on his campaign trail in the northwestern district of Arua that he is not power hungry and not looking for a job.

"I have got my job at home, I am a cattle keeper," Museveni said.

He said he has stayed in politics to achieve his mission of having an East African Federation. He said he is constantly lobbying is colleagues in the East African Community (EAC) member states to actualize the formation of the federation.

EAC brings together Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi.

Museveni said that suggestions by the opposition that he cannot win in a free and fair elections is unfounded because he loses in some parts of the country.

"If the Electoral Commission is biased and is rigging for me, how is it that I lose in many constituencies? The fact that we lose in some constituencies means that the Commission is not biased," he said.

The opposition have always accused the Electoral Commission of being biased.

Analysts believe the 2016 polls will be a three-man race between Museveni, Amama Mbabazi, a former premier now in opposition, and Kizza Besigye, who has run against Museveni three times. There are, however, eight people in the presidential race including the three.

The polls is set to be held on Feb. 18 according to the Independent Electoral Commission, the country's electoral body. Endit