By Mulengera Reporters
On Monday, the EC chairman Justice Simon Byabakama led a large entourage of election officials to Tick Hotel Kawempe where a stakeholders meeting, in preparation for the impending Kawempe North by-election, was held.
During the meeting, Byabakama vigorously pushed back against those at the meeting who demanded total exclusion of Police and other security forces from the entire campaign and voting exercise.
Byabakama clarified that such conspicuous deployment of security happens everywhere because in every country, election security is of paramount importance. He gave the example of Russia and Ghana from where some of his Commissioners recently returned from a bench-marking exercise.
He proceeded to call on all aspirants, their campaign agents, voters and opinion leaders in the area to deliberately work towards ensuring that the campaigning period is peaceful and that vote cancassing is conducted in a manner that complies with all election laws and guidelines.
Byabakama said that mere deployment and visibility of security shouldn’t make voters and other area residents nervous because the Police officers and men aren’t here to cow or harm anyone. They are only present to respond to any provocative and riotous situation. The EC chief used the example of the Betty Muzanira by-election in Rukungiri in 2018 to demonstrate how and why even deployment of Mambas and APCs shouldn’t worry anyone.
He remnisced that in Rukungiri, the deployed riot control equipment was returned to Kampala without being used because the anticipated violent conduct by the participants in the election never happened. That this caused the Police deployment to be of no consequence to the extent that the deployed anti-riot Police personnel ended up spending the whole day sleeping under tree shades and in their trucks because no chaos erupted.
Byabakama went on to advise aspirants, their agents and Kawempe residents on what they have to do or refrain from doing in order for them to have a teargas-free campaigning and voting period. Saying there is a lot to be done to the extent that the EC alone can’t enforce total compliance, Byabakama called on all stakeholders to play their role while working towards a violence-free exercise.
He called on voters and aspirants to fully comply with election laws and guidelines which prohibit voter bribery, acts of violence and campaigning beyond 6pm.
Byabakama also advised against disruptive campaigning activities and conduct which is synonymous with long processions which disrupt normal traffic flow and normal conduct of business by those who may choose to disregard the campaigning euphoria and remain focused on their other routine work.
Besides calling on LC1 leaders to work towards ensuring that ineligible voter transfers don’t take place during the Kawempe North register update exercise period (Monday 27th-Friday 31st), Byabakama assured his audience at Tick Hotel (which comprised of religious leaders, aspirants, political parties’ representatives, opinion leaders, local residents etc) that the above referenced total compliance with the election laws and guidelines is the only way teargas will be avoided and totally kept out of the Kawempe campaigns which will culminate on the 13th March polling day.
On the EC’s part, Byabakama promised inclusiveness and maximum transparency which will enable every candidate to be kept in the know and fully involved in every stage of the preparatory activities leading onto the voting day. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
