KAMPALA -- Uganda's incumbent President Yoweri Museveni won the country's presidential election, the Electoral Commission (EC) said on Saturday as it released the final results at the National Tally Center in the capital, Kampala.

Announcing the outcome, EC Chairperson Simon Byabakama said Museveni secured 71.6 percent of the total votes tallied in Thursday's poll.

Museveni's closest challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi, a pop-star-turned-politician, garnered 24.7 percent of the tallied votes.

The remaining votes were shared among six other presidential candidates. The election was conducted under tight security but remained largely calm, the commission said.