EC receives 300 petitions over LC1 elections
EC chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama said the complaints are being reviewed by the commission’s legal team, which will make recommendations before communicating decisions to affected parties.
EC chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama. (File photo)
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The Electoral Commission (EC) has received 300 petitions arising from the recently concluded Local Council 1 (LC1) elections.
EC chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama said the complaints are being reviewed by the commission’s legal team, which will make recommendations before communicating decisions to affected parties.
Byabakama made the revelations during a media briefing at the commission headquarters in Kampala today (August 6).
“We are in the process of looking at the petitions, taking the necessary decisions, and we shall inform the people,” Byabakama said.
He appealed to candidates and supporters involved in disputes to remain calm and allow the electoral process to take its course.
“We want to appeal to the people in areas where there were disputes arising out of these elections to remain civil, remain law-abiding and wait for due process. Do not take the law into your hands by hurting each other or destroying property,” he said.
“Just this morning, one Member of Parliament came in saying the people in my area are almost threatening to harm one another because of these matters,” he said.
The EC chairperson said the commission’s legal team had been reviewing the petitions, categorising the complaints and assessing the appropriate action.
He said some villages where voting did not take place on the scheduled polling day later held repeat elections between July 29 and August 1.
“Where elections did not take place on the scheduled day, repeat elections were conducted. Our responsibility is to ensure that every village has elected leadership,” Byabakama said.
He noted that any decision to postpone the next phase of the Local Council elections would have financial and administrative implications, and therefore require careful consideration.
EC commissioner Stephen Tashobya said the number of petitions received represents a small fraction of the polling stations where elections were conducted.
He said the low number of complaints indicates that the exercise was largely successful.
“By and large, the exercise was successful. The participants, the voters and our staff all played their part in ensuring that the process was conducted successfully,” he said.
Tashobya clarified that most officials deployed during the LC1 elections were temporary workers recruited specifically for the exercise and not permanent EC staff.
He said district election officials had been instructed to assess the performance of the temporary officials, adding that those found to have repeatedly made deliberate mistakes or failed to perform their duties would not be considered for future electoral assignments.
The commission, he said, would also analyse areas where disputes were more common and use the findings to improve future electoral processes.
Meanwhile, the EC has continued with the next phase of elections, with women set to elect parish executive committees on Friday (August 7) as part of the National Women’s Council structures.
The elections will be conducted through village executive committees, before the process later moves to sub-county, district and national levels.