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Uganda |
ELECTIONS
The national voters’ register has in recent past elections been inflated with phantom and under-age voters, and multiple registration of voters — problems that continue to bedevil the electoral process
Ugandans have yet to experience a cleaned-up and accurate register, which should be ready to enable voters elect local governments in transparent elections starting in November 2001 through to April 2002.
There now seems to be hope and relief that a problematic voters’ register may, after all, become a worry of the past. President Yoweri Museveni was none too pleased with the previous ill-prepared national voters’ registration exercise, so government and opposition politicians alike, local election monitors, civil society, the judiciary, the general public as well as western donors and the Electoral Commission (EC) have combined to introduce an electronic register that will bear the photographs and thumbprints of registered voters.
When preparing for polls, the EC has, in the past, displayed the national voters’ register at all polling centres throughout the country. During the 21-day display period, voters were expected to check their names on the register, and recommend for deletion, names of the dead, non-citizens, the under-aged and multiple registrations. The number of registered voters on the national register has risen from 7.2 million voters since its initial compilation in 1993 for the Constituent Assembly elections, to close to 11 million registered voters for the 12 March 2001, presidential election.
However, the true number of registered voters has been the subject of contention for some time now. There are allegations that the register is heavily inflated and bloated, to enable organized, systematic rigging.
By 10 March 2001, the EC said it had deleted 300,000 names from the register, but with only 36 hours to the 12 March presidential election, the EC had not yet finished compiling the register and could not give the number of «genuine» voters remaining on the register. Then on election eve, the EC Chairman, Hajji Aziz Kasujja, announced that 10,674,080 Ugandans had registered to vote, a figure that was arrived at after the register cleaning-up exercise. This figure again changed to indicate that as at polling day, 10,775,836 people had registered to vote.
Challenging the election results
In announcing the results, the EC disclosed that out of the 10,775,836 registered voters, 7,576,144 people actually turned out to vote. However, as a result of the seemingly endless changes in the number of registered voters coming so close to the election, this figure was highly disputed. The EC has been variously accused of compiling and maintaining a register that has 2.5 million ghost voters — more than 25% of the national total!
Dr. Besigye, President Museveni’s main challenger in the presidential election, petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking nullification of the election results. He claimed that the electoral process regarding the voter’s register, was seriously flawed, and that voters were denied the chance and sufficient time to correct the register. Among the main charges against Museveni (first respondent) and the EC (second respondent), was the failure on the part of the latter to efficiently compile, maintain and update the voter’s register and voters roll for each constituency and for each polling station. Secondly, having displayed the register for only five days, the EC was accused of failing to display copies of the voters’ roll for each parish, for the prescribed period of not less than 21 days.
In their judgement, the Supreme Court justices found that during the presidential election 2001, the EC did not comply with the provisions of the Presidential Elections Act 2000 in section 22(5), as it failed to make available to the petitioner, official copies of the Voters’ register that was used on polling day. Although the Supreme Court in a 3-2 majority decision did not nullify the election, this finding was a serious challenge to the integrity and credibility of the EC and seems to have been the final indication that it was high time for the Commission to act.
The PVRIS Project
Starting on 10 August and continuing on to 10 September 2001, the EC is conducting a fresh national registration of voters, to implement the Photographic Voter Registration and Identification System (PVRIS) project that will cost US $7 million. This will lead to the issuing of personalized photographic voter’s cards. The fresh registration is taking place throughout the 5,000 parishes across the country, except in Kampala.
In January 2001, the EC procured digital cameras, computers, and scanners, plus other equipment, for this project which was initially to be implemented for the presidential election but was abandoned for lack of time. EC Commissioner Charles Owiny, who is the Project Coordinator, said that in March, after the presidential election, the EC carried out a pilot study for the PVRIS with very good results, and now the EC can implement it nationwide.
At voter-registration time, all relevant information on each voter will be collected, plus the voter’s photograph, and stored electronically. The EC will only issue photo-bearing voter cards after searching and eliminating multiple registrations. The cards are expected to last at least ten years, and will be issued against a photo-bearing register at the Local Council office where registration took place.
Unlike previous voter registration exercises where the EC‘s registration mostly worked alone, this time each registration station is staffed with nine people, including the parish chief who is the overall supervisor of the registration exercise in the parish and at each registration station/centre in the parish. The Village Tribunal, comprising the parish chief, three Local Council executives and one elder, sits at the registration station and asks the applicants relevant questions to establish whether they are eligible to register and vote. If satisfied, the Tribunal signifies its approval for the registration process to proceed by issuing the voters with the registration form.
Before issuing new voter’s cards, the EC will publicly display the national voters’ register, bearing photographs for the public to check if any corrections are necessary.
Will it succeed?
The question is: Can the EC «deliver the goods»? Some Ugandans have their doubts. They say there’s not enough time to get everything ready. Secondly, they are asking: «Why the hurry, when the most important election is over? Thirdly, they’re wondering about the ability of ordinary Ugandans to operate the digital cameras efficiently. Fourthly, many are sceptical about the success of the project due to limited public awareness about the PVRIS and the need for it.
Flora Nkurukenda is the EC‘s deputy Chairperson. She says the PVRIS is an important national project which if successfully implemented, will be a landmark step forward in the democratization of Uganda.
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