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EC has started
rigging elections
Tuesday, 7th February, 2006
AS
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), we are very bitter about the decision
of the Electoral Commission (EC) to allow people to vote without voter
cards. Principally, and by law, there is no way you can conduct elections
without voter cards. The argument that the crucial particulars of a voter
are his or her names, photograph, polling station, parish, sub-county,
constituency and district appearing in the voters’ register is all
nonsense.
The EC is hiding inefficiencies and deliberate intentions to rig the
forthcoming elections. It started with changing the election date. The EC
took all the necessary particulars from the people interested in voting
and conducted the display exercise, leaving the majority wondering when
they would get their voter cards. Surprisingly, over two million people
have to date never received their cards and will be allowed to vote.
Is this not amazing and a
sign of rigging elections?Registration of voters started mid-last year and
ended in October.
Dr. Sulaiman
Kiggundu
EC even went ahead to stop
the registration process hurriedly.We understood the situation in which
they were. We thought they wanted more time to prepare the cards before
election date. We are aware that after the return of Col. Kiiza Besigye
from South Africa, there was an influx in the number of voters.
Unfortunately, to date cards have not been issued.
How long does it
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take a
whole Commission to print such cards? You may find that many of those who
registered after Besigye’s return are likely to be affected by this. They
might vote or not vote come the D-day. In another instance, they might not
find their names and photographs in the registers, denying them a chance
to vote.
If the EC realised that the time frame for printing the
voter cards would not be enough, why did they have to change the election
dates from March 12 to February? It is true they were under pressure from
President Museveni to reduce the number of campaign days because he
(President Museveni) wanted Col. Besigye to have less time for campaigning
countrywide. Do they get orders from the president to serve only his
purpose? For God’s sake if the EC cannot provide the cards as soon as
possible let them push the election dates to the original dates or resign
honourably to avoid serious embarrassments. EC vice chairperson does not
have to sweet talk us that there is no bad motive in allowing voting
without voter cards.
The Commission to date has not stated the total
population of voters and polling stations. Do they want to announce the
numbers and make adjustments on the final day? There are many
inefficiencies and deliberate irregularities that the EC is not responding
to. It should not be us to raise dust over what the EC should respond to.
If the EC can not manage the election process, yet the opposition and more
so FDC supporters are continuously being harassed, then we are surely
considering a boycott to the elections even on the last day.
We are now experiencing militarism in the election process. If NRM
supporters are carrying guns at clashes with our supporters and police
uses tear gas and other mechanisms to intimidate us, and the EC does not
say anything, what else do we need to show that the elections shall not be
free and fair? Have security personnel become an armed wing of NRM or
party activists?
On a daily basis we receive complaints and the EC is
watching the situation degenerating every other day but with no response.
We are already having talks with other opposition parties to sign an
agreement to consider boycotting these elections because the EC has failed
to address many of the irregularities in the election process.
The EC has been so passive on various complaints yet
there is a lot of intimidation. If they cannot do the job, let them
emulate the judges and step aside or advise the President to make a decree
allowing him stand alone because he is still interested in ruling this
country.
Dr. Sulaiman Kiggundu
Chairman,
Forum for Democratic Change
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