Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said that the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) would retain a majority in parliament despite the 17 cabinet ministers lost in February 23 parliamentary elections, The New Vision newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Addressing local and international journalists at his country home in Rwakitura in southern Uganda on Sunday evening, Museveni said 190 pro-NRM MPs were voted in on Thursday besides the 10 MPs for people with disabilities and workers, who are all NRM.

"There are also 27 independent MPs who are independent but from the Movement," he said.

Museveni, who won a third term on Thursday, said the 17 ministers' defeat was the painful pangs of democracy.

"That (losing) is alright. That's what democracy is about. If you don't maintain contact with people, that is what they do (vote you out)," he said.

Museveni downplayed the consistent decline in his percentage win, from 75 percent in 1996, 69.4 percent in 2001 to 59.28 percent in Thursday's elections.

He blamed his low percentage in the elections to the heavy rains on voting day and poor organizational efficiency by the Electoral Commission (EC).

"There were 300,000 spoilt votes. This is 4 percent of all votes cast. I am reliably informed that most of those were our votes. Instead of people ticking in the box, they ticked our (NRM bus) symbol or on my head," he said.

Source: Xinhua