Uganda's general elections kick off

An election officer verifies a voter's identity during Uganda's general election in Kampala, Uganda, Feb. 18, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

KAMPALA -- Millions of Ugandans on Thursday queued to vote to elect the east African country's new president and legislators, amid tight security across the country.

In the capital Kampala, people were waiting to cast their vote in the much anticipated election that kicked off voting at 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT). Over 15.2 million voters are expected to cast their votes, according to the country's Electoral Commission.

Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni who has been in power for over 30 years is facing off with two main rivals -- Amama Mbabazi, former prime minister and Kizza Besigye of the main opposition party Forum for the Democratic Change.

Different opinion polls have ranked Mbabazi third after Museveni and Besigye. There are also five other presidential candidates.

For the first time, a bio-metric identifying system, considered more effective in combating fraud, will be used in this year's election.