"My votes are like Lake Victoria: they never dry up," Mr Yoweri Museveni told a roaring crowd in Kampala yesterday after being declared president of Uganda for another five years.
But local and international observers said the poll had been marred by localised vote rigging in his favour, although it probably did not affect the final result.
The opposition challenger, Dr Kizza Besigye, immediately rejected the result, citing "gross and widespread irregularities", and pledge to launch a Supreme Court challenge and to take unspecified "political actions".
Mr Museveni took almost 70 per cent of the vote while Dr Besigye took just 28 per cent. Ugandan election monitors estimated that as much as 15 per cent of the vote had been affected by serious irregularities ranging from ballot box stuffing by polling officials to harassment of opposition supporters.
While the rigging may have increased Mr Museveni's margin of victory, it probably did not change the overall result, the monitors said. "The election was characterised by problems but the Ugandan people have been able to express their will," said the Rev Grace Kaiso.
However Dr Besigye, speaking to reporters at his house in the Port Bell district, said the monitors underestimated the extent of the rigging and rejected the results in 23 of Uganda's 53 districts. "We anticipated the election would not be free and fair but we did not anticipate the extent and magnitude of the irregularities," he said.
Dr Besigye is Mr Museveni's former physician and comrade in arms. He denied rumours he was about to flee Uganda with his family and said he would respect the Supreme Court verdict on a forthcoming legal challenge.
By lunchtime yesterday jubilant Museveni supporters were crowding onto the streets of Kampala and marching towards Kololo airstrip for a victory rally.
Later the president-elect told a press conference there had been rigging, but Besigye supporters had orchestrated it. Dr Besigye was an agent of former dictators Milton Obote and Idi Amin he said. "But this is the last round of fighting. Now we are going to finish them politically once and for all," he added.
Many Ugandans feel the election - during which Mr Museveni used the army and state media to bolster his campaign - demonstrated clearly that the Movement system, supposed to be a "no-party" meritocracy, is increasingly taking on the appearance of a one-party state.
Western donors will pay for half of Uganda's national budget this year, with Ireland contributing £19 million. Sources said they were concerned about the reports of vote rigging but supported the overall result.
"This is not something that will trigger an immediate negative reaction from donors," said one diplomat. "By African standards, it was still a good election."
But many will be disturbed by Mr Museveni's arrogant manner at yesterday's press conference, during which he said that he could not rig votes because he did not control the apparatus of state. He also said he would increase the police force from 15,000 to 33,000. "This is the last time you will hear of these Amin servants," he said.
Yesterday Ms Christine Nakate was among those cheering Mr Museveni. "He has ruled very well, especially us women. He will bring us more good things," she shouted.
But a security guard, Mr Michael Openda, sat glumly on a grassy bank nearby. "Some of us are not satisfied. We thought we could have a new Uganda rather than the corrupt one we have now," he said.
At least one woman died and six people were injured when a homemade bomb exploded at a mini-bus terminal in Kampala, police said. A police spokesman, Mr Asuman Mugenyi, said five of the six injured were in serious condition and were rushed to hospital. Mr Mugenyi said the bomb appeared to be a homemade device and police had no suspects.
AFP adds:
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) peace process faces a crucial test today when five countries whose troops have been engaged in bloody warfare for the past 2 1/2 years are slated to begin disengaging their forces.
Under deals reached in Kampala and Harare last year and at UN Security Council headquarters in New York last month, all forces in the DRC are due to begin to pull back 15 km from their front lines in the first stage of a full withdrawal.
However, indications that all will not be plain sailing came late yesterday from Mr Gaetan Kakudji, an envoy sent to Luanda by the DRC President, Mr Joseph Kabila, who told reporters Kinshasa's military allies will not start withdrawing until the Rwandan and Ugandan forces begin their own redeployments.
"The allies are not going to [start to] withdraw until after the retreat of the Rwandan and Ugandan invaders, which should begin on March 15th as expected," Mr Kakudji said after meeting Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.