EU applauds electoral process

By Sylvia Nankya

THE European Union election observation mission for the forthcoming general elections in Uganda has commended the electoral process for being peaceful and calm.

The mission’s chief observer, Edward Scicluna, yesterday told journalists in Kampala that compared to previous elections and recent developments in countries across Africa, Uganda had to be lauded for running a process that was free of intimidation and violence.

“We have found that the campaign has been relatively peaceful and calm so far. It is our hope that this remains the case for the rest of the campaign period, on Election Day, and most importantly, after the results are announced,” Scicluna said.

The mission also recommended that the Electoral Commission follows international practices by posting on its website the election results, broken down according to each polling station.

“This will lead to greater transparency of the election process and more voter confidence and trust in the eventual outcome,” he added.

Scicluna said since his arrival in Uganda three days ago, he had held discussions with a number of Electoral Commission officials, representatives of political parties and civil society organisations.

Some of the key concerns raised include the long standing argument of allowing persons without voter cards to vote as long as they registered, freedom of expression, unfair media coverage and the right to announce poll results.

He shielded the Electoral Commission on grounds that the law in Uganda did not require voters to have the cards to vote.

“We assess the progress against the domestic laws of a country. Our concern is whether this affects the result. However, its important that all registered voters are identified to avoid fraud or double voting,” he observed.

He advised that the process should be handled by all stakeholders to ensure transparency and called for freedom of expression among all candidates and political parties before, during and after elections.

Scicluna said although each political party is free to make projections, it must be clear that there can only be one official result.