Posted on 02/26/2006 11:28:28 AM PST by motomosanto
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda's First Family was celebrating a joint political triumph on Sunday as Janet Museveni capped her husband's re-election as president by seizing a parliament seat from one of his biggest rivals.
President Yoweri Museveni, 62, extended his two-decade rule at an election on Thursday that saw him trounce his former doctor and main challenger Kizza Besigye.
In a double blow to Besigye's opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Janet also swept away one of its most senior officials in her bid to become a member of parliament.
Most famous for her support for abstinence programmes to fight HIV/AIDS, the staunchly born-again Christian first lady was making her first foray into politics by joining the race.
Despite admitting her family gave her little support, the victory makes her by far the most successful of the three so-called ``Big Mamas'' who lit up the east African nation's polls.
Taking Ruhaama County, a remote rural constituency in the southwest, Mrs Museveni unseated Augustine Ruzindana, an FDC heavyweight and former inspector general of government.
Ruzindana had rubbished Janet's claims she was sent by God to defeat him. But his loss added to the FDC's disappointment after Besigye took only 37 percent of votes to Museveni's 59 percent in the main battle for State House.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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