DP threatens to boycott 2011 polls
Jun 23, 2009
THE Democratic Party (DP) has threatened to boycott the 2011 general elections if electoral reforms are not implemented.
By Umaru Kashaka and Moses Mulondo
THE Democratic Party (DP) has threatened to boycott the 2011 general elections if electoral reforms are not implemented.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Kampala, the DP secretary general, Mathias Nsubuga, said they would not afford to just “accompany†President Yoweri Museveni as he continues to win elections when the ground is not levelled.
“Those reforms are pivotal to a free and fair election. We shall not participate in the 2011 elections if the Government refuses to implement the reforms,†Nsubuga said.
DP was reacting to Museveni’s April 19 letter to former minister Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, the Peoples’ Progressive Party president, in which he said the proposed electoral reforms were not necessary.
The President argued that the laws had already been reformed and that what remained was the computerisation of the voters register.
Bidandi’s proposals are similar to those suggested by the inter-party cooperation, which comprises FDC, CP, UPC, and JEEMA.
In the proposals presented on May 14 to Parliament, the cooperation called for the restoration of the presidential term limits, the disbanding of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the banning of the army and other security agencies from being involved in elections.
The cooperation also called for new rules to ensure accountability and transparency in casting, counting and tallying votes and announcing results.
It further proposed that people convicted of electoral offences should not be nominated for the byelection and in the general election.
In the April 2006 ruling on an electoral petition by FDC president Kizza Besigye, the Supreme Court said the principle of a free and fair election had been compromised.
The court also expressed concern regarding the involvement of the security forces in elections, saying they intimidated the voters and promoted violence.
THE Democratic Party (DP) has threatened to boycott the 2011 general elections if electoral reforms are not implemented.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Kampala, the DP secretary general, Mathias Nsubuga, said they would not afford to just “accompany†President Yoweri Museveni as he continues to win elections when the ground is not levelled.
“Those reforms are pivotal to a free and fair election. We shall not participate in the 2011 elections if the Government refuses to implement the reforms,†Nsubuga said.
DP was reacting to Museveni’s April 19 letter to former minister Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, the Peoples’ Progressive Party president, in which he said the proposed electoral reforms were not necessary.
The President argued that the laws had already been reformed and that what remained was the computerisation of the voters register.
Bidandi’s proposals are similar to those suggested by the inter-party cooperation, which comprises FDC, CP, UPC, and JEEMA.
In the proposals presented on May 14 to Parliament, the cooperation called for the restoration of the presidential term limits, the disbanding of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the banning of the army and other security agencies from being involved in elections.
The cooperation also called for new rules to ensure accountability and transparency in casting, counting and tallying votes and announcing results.
It further proposed that people convicted of electoral offences should not be nominated for the byelection and in the general election.
In the April 2006 ruling on an electoral petition by FDC president Kizza Besigye, the Supreme Court said the principle of a free and fair election had been compromised.
The court also expressed concern regarding the involvement of the security forces in elections, saying they intimidated the voters and promoted violence.