As Uganda gears up for the next poll in February 2021, questions are being asked about how well prepared the country. The issue has become a particularly hot topic in the wake of the chaotic ruling party National Resistance Movement (NRM) party primaries held at the beginning of September.
The chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Justice Simon Byabakama, says they are guaranteeing a levelled ground in the political space, a seamless nomination process procuring of ballot papers on time and a free and fair election.
Justice Byabakama made the remarks on Thursday evening during a media engagement ahead of the 2021 General Election at the Kampala-based NTV.
He said his Commission is doing excellent work, plugging the possible loopholes that would have given rise to credible grounds to challenge an outcome of any election. “We want to carry that forward to the 2021 general elections,” Byabakama told current affairs TV veteran Patrick Kamala.
“Everyone is operating against the backdrop of the time lost during COVID-19, we are trying as a country in other aspects of life to ensure that we move on and have some of these activities that were affected carried on as normally as possible,” Justice Byabakama said.
He also to shed more light on the Electoral Roadmap and introduction of new technologies which means that Uganda is now in a position to minimise election fraud and to guarantee a credible electoral process.
“We are in the process of acquiring a system that will be utilised on polling day that can identify a voter, rule out multiple voting and also have some level of connectivity,” Justice Byabakama said.
The EC boss also condemned violence insisting that it undermines Uganda’s democracy.
“The perpetrators of the violence that was in the NRM primaries were the people, the same people who are going to participate in 2021 elections. The issue of whether the 2021 elections will be characterised by violence is entirely in the hands of Ugandans,” he said.
“Nobody is supposed to threaten anyone not to vote for a particular individual because this is a right enshrined in our constitution. Anyone who is intimidating or threatening voters is committing a criminal offence. All of us should say no to violence and we should encourage our people to do to the same,” he cautioned.
Uganda has over 1.5 million elective positions that will be competed for in the 2021 elections.
