The Electoral Commission Chairman Justice Simon
Byabakama has said that there was no need for consulting political parties
prior to releasing the revised electoral roadmap.
Different political players have since the release of the roadmap on Tuesday
expressed strong opposition mainly citing failure by the Electoral Commission
to consult them. In the revised roadmap, the EC banned open-air campaigns ahead
of the 2021 campaigns and general elections and advised contender to utilise
digital platforms.
However, speaking to senior political journalists at the EC headquarters in
response to reservations by political players, Byabakama said that under
Section 12 Electoral Commission Act, they are required to ensure that
candidate’s campaign in an orderly and organized manner. He emphasized that it
is the duty of the EC to direct how candidates will campaign since it is an
independent body obliged to do its work without influence from anybody.
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Specifically addressing the argument of the Commission’s failure to consult
stakeholders, Byabakama said that the Constitution stipulates that the exercise
of the EC functions shall not be subject to the control or authority of any
person.
“When we were rolling out the roadmap in 2018, it was the handwork of the
Commission as required by the Constitution. When we are revising this roadmap
in the context of the prevailing circumstances, it is the work of the
Commission,” he said.
He explained that it was not necessary to consult political parties before
releasing the revised roadmap since the political parties even find it
difficult to generate consensus for their internal issues. Byabakama says
that they can now only encourage political players to raise any issues on the
revised roadmap to see how they can drive forward the electoral process.
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But he revealed that he met Yoweri Museveni, not as a candidate in the upcoming
general election but a President of the country. According to Byabakama, EC met
the President not to consult on the roadmap but as a key decision-maker
in regard to their budget for the election and the relocation of the
headquarters of the commission.
The Uganda National Roads Authority gave EC up to July next year to vacate in
order to pave way for the Kampala- Jinja Express Way construction paper
project.
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The EC Chairperson also noted that they have been benchmarking with other
countries which have held elections during the Covid-19 pandemic like Benin and
Burundi but decided to choose to have electronic campaigns following a thorough
discussion with the Ministry of Health.
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The Electoral Commission has been dragged to court for banning open-air campaigns, in the run-up to the 2021 General elections.
Ugandans will go to the polls between January and February 2021, to elect a President, Members of Parliament and Local council leaders.
But instead of the usual open air campaigns, the commission suggested that contenders for the various political offices will use different media platforms as the main avenue through which they can reach the electorate.
This is in line with the Ministry of Health guidelines that prohibit mass gatherings in the wake of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
A day after the roadmap was unveiled, Ugandan journalist pastor Joseph Kabuleta wrote to the Electoral Commission demanding a meeting with key stakeholders like the political parties, regarding the most appropriate ways of conducting elections during the COVID -19 pandemic.
He demanded that the meeting be held in two days, to avoid a court battle.
Today, Kabuleta filed a petition before the Civil Division of High Court challenging the manner under which the campaigns are to be conducted.
In his application, Kabuleta, through his lawyers led by Daniel Walyemera, asked the court to quash the said revised roadmap on grounds that it is not fair in a free and democratic society like Uganda.
