Judge urges Museveni to accept electoral reforms

Aug 26, 2009

JUSTICE Joseph Mulenga has urged President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling NRM party to heed to calls for electoral reforms from various stakeholders ahead of the 2011 elections.

By Charles Ariko

JUSTICE Joseph Mulenga has urged President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling NRM party to heed to calls for electoral reforms from various stakeholders ahead of the 2011 elections.

The former Supreme Court judge said on Tuesday that the ruling NRM party should not consider demands for electoral reforms as something within the discretion of the ruling party to grant or reject.

“In my view, that picture is ominous and ought to be reversed. The creation, operation and reform of a democratic electoral system must involve all stakeholders.

“I do not imagine that anyone who has experienced the last three general elections can honestly maintain that our electoral system needs no improvement,” Mulenga said.

Mulenga, who is serving as a judge on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, said the electoral system is a vital tool in democratic governance that should as much as possible evolve through consensus.

Presenting a paper titled : “Uganda’s Electoral Legal and Institutional Framework: Perspectives for 2011,” Mulenga said the country needed to reflect on why the current system has produced the desired results.

Mulenga said the provisions for the annulment of an election ought to be revised and also pointed out the absence of deterrent penalties for culprits who violate electoral laws was a major problem.

Wandera Ogalo, the East African Legislative Assembly Member of Parliament criticised the composition of the current electoral commission, saying political parties were not consulted yet they are key stakeholders in the electoral process.

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