Abstract- Very often the electoral process in Uganda has been marred with a lot of irregularities and after elections many electoral petitions have been have been made to courts of judicature. February 18th 2011 is the day when the Presidential elections were conducted that saw the re-election of Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the incumbent for another 4th term. However his landslide victory of 68% was rejected by the opposition leaders who termed the entire process to have been a sham. This research paper is hence forth meant to make a brief about what transpired in the recently concluded elections.
INTRODUCTION
We have witnessed the last concluded presidential and parliamentary elections on 18th February 2011 and there is need to examine the whole voting process and give credit where it is due. The fishing methods too were to some extent out of context with the extravagance of the incumbent candidate, voter bribery, ballot stuffing and many other inconsistencies with in the Electoral Commission. This note is to examine those methods in line with integrity.
We have concluded election and subsequently the swearing in ceremony for the President of Uganda who was voted in by Ugandans at a percentage of 68% in lead of other candidates. However, it is important to examine the voting process in line with integrity.
A constitutional voting process and procedures are meant to create fairness, justice and transparency. It is important to note that when the procedures are followed, then the loopholes will be avoided.
The Constitution mandates every one above the age of 18 to vote1 and it is therefore everyone’s right to participate in a free and fair election. The election process ended and it is inevitable to examine the process in line with the constitution and other integrity parameters to measure the applicability of integrity during the voting and campaigning processes.
There are a number of things that we should examine during campaigns and also the voting process.
First, there was extravagant use of public money during the campaigns by the president yet he himself was a candidate though incumbent, public resources were wasted. The Presidential Elections Act2 prohibits all candidates from using public resources for the purposes of campaigning. S.27 (2) of the Act however, provides exceptions for the incumbent regarding use of those resources ordinarily attached to his office and requires the Minister of Public Service to lay before Parliament the resources in question. On January 2nd 2006, the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Service Hon. Henry Muganwa Kajura laid before Parliament the entitlements of the President.
The document is very brief and states inter alia that pursuant to S.27 (3) of the Presidential Act 2005, the facilities ordinarily attached to and utilized by the President include:
“The usual transport facilities provided to the President, the usual security detail facilities provided to the President, the usual personal staff and their facilities attached to the President, the usual information and communication facilities attached to the President.”3
The concern is about the manner in which the section was enumerated because not many people know the usual facilities, personnel and transport facilities attached to the President. As a result the law on not using public resources during campaigns can be abused. It is also difficult to monitor what one does not know.
There is need for a more detailed version of the entitlements of the President be done to make monitoring possible and also ensure that public resources are not used by any candidate during the campaigns. Unlike the Parliamentary Elections Act4 which provides for a punishment upon conviction for use of public resources by any Parliamentary candidate of a fine not exceeding 20 currency points (400,000/=) or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both, the Presidential Elections Act does not provide a penalty for any candidates who breach the law regarding use of public resources for campaigning.
Despite the lacuna in the law, the Electoral Commission should issue a directive to all candidates to refrain from using public resources for purposes of campaigning to stop the wastage.
The candidates used insulting, abusive and derogatory, language during their campaigns.
Some of the language promotes violence and biases the public. Forum for Democratic Change Vice-President Hon. Salaamu Musumba while addressing a rally in Busoga square in Jinja asked their supporters to carry sticks and catapults and hide them somewhere to deal with people who will steal votes.
In regards to this issue, the DEMO GROUP had this to say:
Though we appreciate the importance of ensuring that elections are conducted freely and fairly and all Ugandans are responsible for ensuring this, we would like to discourage any encouragements of violence and instead advise vigilance of all stakeholders through deployment of their agents in all polling stations nationwide, Parties should also make sure their agents are present in all tally centers and record and report any malpractices that may take place on polling day. We also advise all voters to ensure that they participate in monitoring the polls by being present to vote and during counting at the centers where they are registered.
DEMGROUP further notes that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni while addressing a rally in Mbikko, Jinja district stated “These night dancers are telling you that education for all means “bonna basiruwale (Universal ignorance). I’m told that is what Besigye has been telling you here.” We advise that language which derogates, insults and ridicules any opponent is contrary to S. 23 (5) (d) and (e) of the Presidential Elections Act and should be prohibited. The EC in liaison with the police should take practical steps to ensure that all candidates who breach any provisions of the law are dealt with accordingly.5
The use of such language is a question of integrity because as Ugandans we need to respect each other but where there is use of such language, and then it befits the idea of harmony and integrity. Therefore, according to DEMO GROUP’S REPORT, the use of such language indicates the lack of integrity by the responsible candidates. There was voter intimidation during the campaigns and also during elections. This action was inconsistent with the provision of the constitution6 where people are supposed to express- their free will in the exercise and that government should ensure this is done. The question is that who is to protect the citizens from such intimidation? And are they not in breach? Fear was created in the voters and in fact this is one of the reasons why few people turned out to vote. In the same report by DEMOGROUP, they presented the following;
On January 17 2006, Hajji Moses Kigongo the vice chairperson of National Resistance Movement while addressing a rally in Kyamate, Ntungamo district was quoted to have said that;
“We shall allow them to enjoy the water, hospitals but not the jobs.
These utterances are contrary to the 1995 Constitution of Uganda7 which provides that “All persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law.” Article 21(2) of the Constitution states that “Without prejudice to Article 21 of this Constitution, a person shall not be discriminated against on the ground of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion or social or economic standing, political opinion or disability.”
DEMGROUP therefore urges all agents of the incumbent and all candidates to desist from utterances that infringe on the freedom of association and create fear in people who may want to support different candidates. This report indicates the lack of integrity that the various leaders exhibited before the voters and therefore in light of integrity, they failed to maintain it.
As in 2006, appeals disputing the academic qualifications of candidates flooded the courts. The requirement excludes the majority of Ugandan citizens from passive suffrage, and necessitates the Electoral Commission and the National Council for Higher Education to exercise discretion in recognising or rejecting equivalency of qualifications. The academic prerequisite has led to the falsification of diplomas, and has further exacerbated the personalisation of campaigns, distracting the attention of voters from substantive policy issues. Further, the requirement has saddled a number of candidates with the cost of defending themselves against frivolous challenges. On another issue, the Supreme Court upheld the right of 70 MPs to stand for the elections, even though they had violated the Constitution by switching party affiliation during their tenure in the previous parliament, without vacating their seats. The Constitution is ambiguous as to whether an MP would have to vacate a seat if expelled by their party. The 2011 Ugandan general elections showed some improvements over the previous elections held in 2006. However, the electoral process was marred by avoidable administrative and logistical failures which led to an unacceptable number of Ugandan citizens being disenfranchised.
The power of incumbency was exercised to such an extent as to compromise severely the level playing field between the competing candidates and political parties. Notwithstanding a number of incidents of violence and intimidation, especially on Election Day, the electoral campaign and polling day were generally conducted in a peaceful manner. Restraint in campaign rhetoric contributed to this improved campaign environment. With genuine political commitment by all stakeholders, further progress towards a fully pluralistic and multi‐party democracy can be achieved.8
The integrity of the media:
The state‐owned broadcaster, the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), failed to comply with its legal obligations to treat each presidential and parliamentary candidate equally. The UBC television channel gave the incumbent president and the ruling National Resistance Movement party substantially more coverage than their nearest rivals.
The government’s dominance of state‐owned radio, the only broadcasting network covering almost all areas of the country, was not balanced by private radio stations established outside the capital, which generally provided opposition candidates with very limited access. One of the scenarios is that DR. Besigye was denied access to various radio stations to air out his views. This was against the media integrity.
Polling and counting
Election Day unfolded peacefully for the most part, but poor application of basic procedures revealed inadequate training of polling station staff and implied insufficient safeguards against fraud. Disturbingly high numbers of citizens found that they were not registered where they expected, leading to confusion and avoidable instances of disenfranchisement, this is a question of integrity to the officers who were in charge because most people’s names were scrapped off occasionally and there was no explanation to this. I managed to talk to one of the supervisors in my area of residence and they actually told me that they just didn’t have time to scrutinize the lists for long hours with little pay. This was an exhibition of the highest order of dishonesty.
Tabulation and publication of results
Tallying of results was assisted by the new Electronic Results Transmission and Dissemination System, according to which clerks at District Tally Centers entered results data and scanned Declaration of Results Forms before transmitting these to the National Tally Centre. Although the system enabled swift transmission of results once entered, party agents and observers had difficulty viewing the data entry process in one third of cases and the process often took several days, in some cases amid tensions and apparent irregularities. This system that was thought to be of help turned out to be an enigma as it caused chaos amongst polling agents who did not know how the technology worked. The Electoral commission was dishonest as they promised that results would come straight from district tally centers to party agents in Namboole before they were finally entered, this was not the case as the party agents didn’t have a chance to view the results before they were tabulated. There was breach of integrity in this case. For purposes of the future, let’s examine the recommendations that the European Mission Observer set out:
Recommendations
In advance of future elections, the election framework would require reform to be fully in line with Uganda’s international, regional and constitutional commitments and obligations. As a contribution to this process, a set of detailed recommendations is included at the end of this report. Key recommendations include the following:
The problem of lack of trust in the Electoral Commission could be addressed by improving the transparency and credibility of the system for appointing Commissioners, alongside the provision of security of tenure. Greater consensus could be achieved by including opposition and civil society voices in the appointment process, as well as the Presidency and Parliamentary majority.
The criteria for nomination and precise terms of reference for Electoral Commissioners and all other electoral officials should be set out in law.
All Members of Parliament, including any quota seats for disadvantaged groups should be elected by direct and universal suffrage. Consideration should be given to amending the Constitution and the Parliamentary Elections Act with a view to reviewing the Special Interest Groups provided for. The current quotas for youth, workers and the military do not meet criteria of acceptable positive discrimination for disadvantaged groups since the groups concerned do not require particular assistance and in the case of the armed forces, special seats raise serious concerns of independence, accountability and conflict of interest.
In addition, the implementation of Special Interest Group elections runs contrary to
democratic standards in a number of respects. Seats currently reserved for persons with
disabilities should, if maintained, be elected by universal suffrage.
Another measure that would increase public trust in the electoral process is the creation of a new National Voter Register, with registration continuously updated through District Registrars and a clearer system for transferring registration locations. Public display periods both before and after cleansing should be adequately communicated to the public in both urban and rural areas, and the final assignment of polling stations should be completed at least one month before polling day, at which point it should be communicated by a variety of means, including outreach programmes. Voters should be identified by an identity card
system or some similar voting document.
Conditions for freedom of speech and equitable access to the media would be improved by the reform of the regulatory authorities, the Media Council and the Broadcasting Council, to guarantee their independence and insulate them from government control. An independent regulatory authority with statutory powers to deal adequately with complaints during election period would create a basis for a more level playing field for media coverage and help to improve voters’ access to information.
Legislation is required to curb the use of state and government resources during an election period for the advantage of the incumbent. For example, the use of “ordinarily attached official facilities” by the incumbent presidential candidate, other than those related to his personal security, should be restricted to the execution of his official duties only.
Once the 2012 census figures are published, the Electoral Commission will require adequate resources to fulfill its constitutional obligation to demarcate electoral boundaries, so that their sizes are as equal as possible to the population quota, taking into special account densely populated areas.
Parliament needs also to revise the statutory equation of women seats with administrative districts or cities, in order to enable the Electoral Commission to demarcate women‐only district constituencies which respect the equality of the vote.
Parliament should establish an ad hoc committee to review practice and law in Uganda and across the East African Community and propose a bill that would effectively regulate campaign spending.
Introducing campaign spending caps on individual parliamentary candidates, to be monitored and enforced by the Electoral Commission and the courts, would reduce the monetisation of politics.
The EU EOM urges the authorities, political parties and civil society of Uganda to swiftly start to take these and other required steps detailed in the recommendations section of this report in order to ensure that the conduct of future elections can be held in accordance with Uganda’s international, regional and constitutional commitments and obligations.( adapted from a final report of the European Observer Mission in the general elections)
One important thing to note in this report is that it emphasizes transparency of the different groups, honesty which are of course antonyms to integrity.
Below is an experience I witnessed during the last year’s campaigns and it could guide us in examining integrity:
You might wonder what pulls the crowds when a politician is "making his points". I have had a lot of fun during the ongoing campaigns and elections in this country.
In Mbarara, while at a rally, one politician said, “I will build roads for you, I will plant new forests...." and it all seemed like it was not a joke until he broke my lungs with laughter when he deceptively added "I will build dams for you so that you can fish and make your own power." One of the people in the crowd asked,' "We do not have rivers, how will you build the dams?" The politician then answered "Even the rivers...i will provide, just give me your mandate...” The Ugandans clapped and eventually gave him votes.
Another scenario, still in western Uganda...some staunch NRM guys convinced people that if they voted for the bus, the bus would be used to ferry the then incumbent candidate in the presidential race, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni away...they did as told. Drama ensued when while tallying...Museveni was winning…they began to fight claiming that they had voted for the bus to ferry Museveni away which turned out not to be the case...
Another stunt that I liked was in Bugerere where there was a Campaign. A young lawyer who was contesting to represent his people in the August house as a Member of Parliament had his game well planned. While at the open air campaigns, the incumbent MP gave his speech and got seated. Now it was the young lawyer's turn...he bravely took stage and with him had a photograph of the incumbent MP dozing in parliament...this was his introduction...you need someone sober for this county...someone who is alert...someone who doesn't doze...one of the people asked..do you have any evidence of anyone who dozed in parliament…the young lawyer could not hesitate but pull out the incumbent MP's photograph...the crowd went in a roar...this was not enough for the incumbent MP. He stood up in rage and went straight to this young contestant and punched him before the public....the public went into a maze and decided not to vote for a chaotic and dozing incumbent MP. The next day, every one lined up to vote for the young lawyer and he won with a landslide.9
There are many petitions that ensued after elections in fact over 100 of them. This shows that there was no integrity in the dealings by the respondents in these petitions. Integrity should always be the way if we are to achieve clean democracy in Uganda.MICHAEL ABONEKA.
COURSE: LLB
YEAR: TWO
EMAIL: abonekajunior@gmail.com
abonekamichael@hotmail.com
abonex2007@yahoo.com
PHONE NO: 0779201692
0791809005
0700896630
INSTITUTION: UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
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