The
Attorney General tabled the long awaited electoral reforms on the last day of
the deadline accorded by the Supreme Court.
The electoral reforms have been a request of the electorate, civil
society and political leaders far back as 2011.The Citizens Coalition for
Electoral Democracy (CCEDU) forwarded the Citizen’s Electoral Reform Agenda
(CERA) 2011 to parliament. In 2016, the Citizen’s compact on free and fair elections
was forwarded to parliament as an outcome of consultative meetings held by
civil society to capture the voice of the people on what electoral reforms
where needed ahead of the 2016 general elections.
The
tabled reforms by the Attorney General fall short in reflecting the voices of
the people and the recommendations forwarded by the Supreme Court in the ruling
of the Amama Mbabazi Vs Museveni and Ors Presidential petition of 2016.
The
proposed amendments remedy issues in execution of multi-party politics,
crossing the floor and the existence of independents. Many opposition
politicians have accused the bill of being coined to target particular political
members ahead of the 2021 general elections. The under sight of such amendments is that a
law passed to curtail particular individuals has a short span of relevance in
regard to the time in politics for those it targets. Therefore,
to ignore the agency presented in the CERA handbook and the Citizen’s Compact
is to undermine the importance and timeliness of the electoral reforms. These documents re-echoed and re-affirmed the
position of Ugandans in regard to free and fair elections.
It is imperative that the reforms not
only benefit the political parties but rather foster a renewal of faith for the
electorate in the electoral process that is characterised by cynicisms, apathy
and suspicion. Therefore, restoring the faith of the people in the credibility
of the electoral commission to deliver free and fair elections is crucial.
Ahead
of the 2021 general elections, the outcry of the electorate is in the need for;
A credible voters’ register, an independent electoral commission in name and
appointment, provision of a spending cap by passing the Election Campaign Bill 2018 that
provides for the regulation of money spent during the campaigns, A ban on
candidates caught in electoral malpractices from holding electoral positions
or even participating and equal representation of candidates on all media
platforms.
To that end as the electorate, we
continue to call on government through the Attorney General’s office to amend the
proposed reforms in order for them to represent the voice of the people forwarded
in the CERA handbook, 2011 and in the Citizen’s compact on free and fair
election, 2014 in line with the recommendations provided by the Supreme Court.
Going forward, the voice of the people should always take primacy in the
decisions that will come out of the 10th parliament in regard to the
electoral reforms and any other constitutional amendment.
