On Saturday, 26th December 2020, Electoral commission of Uganda surprised the nation when it announced that no campaign meetings shall take place in 12 districts citing that their rate of COVID-19 spread is unimaginable.
This pushed the electorates, politicians and legal officials to turn guns against them (EC), among those is Renewed Uganda deputy chief of staff and head of legal team, Counsel Alex Luganda.
In his statement, Luganda is saying the Electoral Commission’s move to suspend 12 districts including Kampala, Jinja, Luweero, Masaka and Wakiso which constitute almost 40% votes is a form of Electoral malpractice and a total disrespect to presidential candidates.
EC LEGAL CLAIMS LACK LEGITIMA CY
The law gives EC mandate to manage and direct on manner of campaign meetings but the decision they have taken is characterised by I’ll will and motive. It has no logical and scientific basis and is simply an affront and violation of the basic principles of a free and fair election.
The EC decision is arbitrary and high handed and equally disrespectful to all the Presidential candidates as no consultation was made by EC before such decision.
The fact that all other sectors of the public that congregate huge gatherings on a daily like markets, kikubo,taxi parks, schools, free movement from the banned districts to other parts of the country were all left free and only political meetings targeted clearly shows political witch hunt and machinations which is a form of electoral malpractice.
An election is a process and not an event and as such the erratic actions of the EC and its constant change of goal posts over the last 38 days of the campaign period greatly undermines the legitimacy and credibility of the electoral process and as such the outcome of the yet to be conducted polls are questionable even before they are released.
EC may want to.hide under the blanket of legal provisions on its mandate but it should be remembered that even apartheid in South Africa was provided for under the law but its legal cover did not grant it legitimacy.
Actions that defeat logic, common sense and good conscious should be shunned and condemned no matter there legal correctness, remember the 2021 forthcoming polls is not a legal contest but an important political and social economic milestone for this country.
The coming days are likely to be tense and given the fact that the affected districts collectively constitute close to 5m voters and are nearly 40%of the voting population with a known and clear passed voting pattern of being anti establishment, the EC decision smells a rat and whether these politically charged and awakened electorates shall escort EC on its path to political insanity remains a BIG question.
Let’s watch the space and see how the coming 17 days to the polls will unfold.
Counsel Alex Luganda
Deputy Chief of Staff & Head Legal
Renewed Uganda