Stop wildcat acts

By John Kakande The decision taken by the Electoral Commission to shift the presidential election from March 7 to Monday 12, was not surprising. It is disheartening that the Commission is increasingly resorting to wildcat action. It has so far changed the polling day twice, from March 6 to 7 and now March 12. The EC has had to invoke 'special' powers to reduce the display period to less than a week from the 21 days provided for under the electoral law. These actions will affect the evaluation of the electoral process. Nonetheless, the Commission still faces serious time constraints in spite of the five-day postponement of the polls. There is hardly any time to clean the voters' register. No one should therefore expect a fairly accurate voters register on the polling day. The escalating election violence has brought into question the free and fairness of the presidential polls. The Saturday incident in Rukungiri in which supporters of Col. Dr Kizza Besigye clashed with soldiers of the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU) resulting into deaths and injuries, is not just an isolated incident. The government has responsibility to ensure that the election is peaceful, free and fair. The establishment of a joint security task force comprising of the army, Police and the intelligence services under the Army Commander Major General Jeje Odongo, is appreciated. It shows that Government is equally concerned about the election- related violence and does not want the country to slip into turmoil in the aftermath of the polls. There have been persistent allegations, however, that some senior security officers have been involved in partisan election campaigns. The media has persistently quoted certain army officers addressing campaign meetings and uttering political statements. The NGO Election Monitoring Group-Uganda, a consortium of local NGOs monitoring elections, recently reported that "acts of violence incited or actually perpetuated by government agents are on the increase and threaten to wreck the electoral process." It is equally true that Museveni's supporters in some parts of the country have also suffered intimidation and or harassment. On Saturday, for example, a supporter of Col. Besigye in Soroti shot and injured Museveni's supporter following a heated argument. The Government should ensure that security agencies, especially the army, remain impartial. It should also allay public fears that the deployment of the soldiers in certain parts of the country is intended to intimidate the supporters of President Museveni's challengers. Security officers should not be seen to be taking sides in a political campaign. It is simply not good for the security agencies and the stability of the country. All the presidential candidates have a responsibility to ensure that their supporters do not engage in acts of violence. It would be helpful if all held a joint press conference under the auspices of the Electoral Commission before March 12, to denounce violence and urge their supporters to adhere to law. Ends