The removal of the term limits in 2005 and the Age limit in 2017 left a gap in the
delivery of a free, fair and transparent electoral process in Uganda. Consequently,
the passing of the electoral reforms would help shape legislation needed during the
electoral cycle ahead of the 2021 general elections.
It should be noted that while some clauses of the proposed bills are prejudiced
towards particular individuals and towards stifling transparency during the elections,
the urgency of the reforms is one greatly felt in the electorate.
On 7th January 2020, Civil Society Organizations re-echoed the need for electoral
Reforms ahead of the 2021 general elections. The electoral reforms where presented
to parliament on June 29th, 2019 and civil society shared their analysis of the bills with
the Parliamentary committee for legal and constitutional affairs. Imperative to note,
the recommendations in the previous citizen consultations i.e. The Citizens’ Compact
on free and fair election (2015) and the Citizens’ Electoral Reform Agenda (2011) and
those forwarded by the Supreme Court need to be put into consideration before
passing the bills.
Therefore, as we begin the electoral process, sterner attention should be put to
passing the electoral reforms as a safety cap that will regulate and push for a
participatory electoral process. For us to redeem the closing space for dissent, media
coverage and continued witch hunt of the opposition, parliament needs to pass the
electoral reform bills with the needed amendments. This will be a stepping stone
towards securing legal frameworks that will govern the electoral processes and as
well as create hope within the electorate in elections as a capable channel for
delivering change and stability to the political life of Uganda.
By Tricia Gloria Nabaye
Research Fellow: GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES
gnabaye@gliss.org
