{Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has taken part in his first televised debate ahead of elections on Thursday.}<\/p>\n
Mr Museveni snubbed Uganda’s first pre-election debate last month, saying such events were for schoolchildren.<\/p>\n
The Ugandan leader, 71, is seeking to extend his 30-year rule by winning a fifth term in government.<\/p>\n
The focus of the second debate was foreign policy and national security – considered to be Mr Museveni’s strongest points.<\/p>\n
The first debate focused on domestic issues such as health and education.<\/p>\n
Most observers thought Mr Museveni maintained his composure and made concise points, the BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga reports from Kampala.<\/p>\n
However, the moderators were less challenging in this debate. Some analysts wonder whether this was one of Mr Museveni’s conditions for attending, our correspondent adds.<\/p>\n
Mr Museveni said his rivals’ allegations of corruption were fiction and also dismissed criticism of his economic policies and the state of the health care system.<\/p>\n
Eight presidential candidates are contesting Thursday’s polls. Ugandans will vote in parliamentary and local elections on the same day.<\/p>\n
For the first time, Mr Museveni and his National Resistance Movement will face two strong opponents.<\/p>\n
They are Kizza Besigye, the veteran opposition leader, and Amama Mbabazi, a former prime minister and close ally of the president.<\/p>\n
Mr Besigya leads the Forum for Democratic Change, while Mr Mbabazi is running as an independent with the GoForward pressure group.<\/p>\n
Major issues for voters include persistently high unemployment, corruption and the quality of public services.<\/p>\n
Source:BBC:[Uganda’s president attends first election debate->http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-africa-35569227]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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