The Electoral Commission (EC) and the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) have disagreed over a directive requiring voters to leave polling stations immediately after casting their ballots.
During a meeting attended by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Abas Byakagaba, accompanied by the Director of Operations Services, Frank Mwesigwa, EC Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama failed to convince IRCU leaders why voters should be compelled to leave polling stations after voting.
IRCU leaders, including Church of Uganda Archbishop Dr Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, Pastor Joseph Sserwadda, Pastor Joshua Lwere, and Mufti Shaban Mubaje, questioned why the EC was issuing a directive they say contradicts the law, which allows voters to remain at least 20 metres away from polling stations.
In response, Justice Byabakama argued that enforcing the 20-metre rule could lead to unnecessary congestion around polling stations. He said voters would be allowed to return later to witness the counting of votes but should not remain at polling stations throughout the day.
“Each candidate has appointed agents whom they trust. We will also have election observers at every polling station, in addition to police officers inside the polling stations to witness the process,” Byabakama said.
However, IRCU members, including Pastor Sserwadda and Archbishop Kaziimba, questioned why citizens willing to remain at polling stations to observe the voting process should be prevented from doing so. By the end of the meeting, the clergy said they were not convinced by the EC’s explanation.
Justice Byabakama and IGP Byakagaba held the meeting with IRCU leaders following a media address last week in which the council questioned the intentions of the EC, police, and military in insisting that voters stay away from polling stations.
Pastor Sserwadda warned that chasing voters away after they cast their ballots fuels suspicion and raises fears of electoral malpractice.
IRCU leaders also asked the IGP to explain the heightened presence of the military during the campaign period, noting that the police are the legally mandated force to ensure peace at political rallies.
In response, IGP Byakagaba said all security deployments, including those involving the military, were made under his authority. He explained that he had invited sister security agencies to support the police.
“I invited the military to support us during this campaign period. They did not deploy themselves. I have also invited the Prisons Service to assist us. The law mandates me to invite sister security agencies where the need arises. In fact, I can even invite civilians to help,” Byakagaba said.
Meanwhile, police and the military have come under criticism for alleged human rights abuses, including beating, shooting, teargas use, and arrests of supporters of National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi across different parts of the country.
So far, more than 200 NUP supporters have reportedly been arrested, charged, and remanded, while several others are nursing injuries.
****URN****