Ssebaana accepts poll results
Feb 28, 2006
THE Democratic Party (DP) president, John Ssebaana Kizito, yesterday said he respects the results of the February 23 presidential elections won by President Museveni. Ssebaana blamed the rains on polling day for his dismal performance in the race, where he came third with 1.58%.
By Jude Etyang and Apollo Mubiru
THE Democratic Party (DP) president, John Ssebaana Kizito, yesterday said he respects the results of the February 23 presidential elections won by President Museveni. Ssebaana blamed the rains on polling day for his dismal performance in the race, where he came third with 1.58%.
He also said the ground was not level because of the continued existence of the Movement, giving Museveni the advantage of using State resources to campaign for the NRM party.
Ssebaana, however, added that he had to accept the results for the sake of peace and continuity of the nation and not because the results were legitimate.
“Taking into account all that has taken place, we shall respect the results of the presidential elections. However, we shall respect the results not for their legitimacy, but for the sake of peace and continuity,†Ssebaana said.
Addressing the press at the DP national headquarters in Kabusu, a Kampala suburb, Ssebaana accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of incompetence, saying it left the electoral process vulnerable to “massive election malpractices.â€
Ssebaana was flanked by his predecessor, Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere and the party secretary general, Professor Richard Ebil Ottoo.
He said the party had set up a legal team to battle for the party’s parliamentary candidates who lost through malpractices. He said their lawyers were collecting evidence to be used in the election petitions.
Some of the party candidates contesting their defeat are Betty Nambooze, Sarah Kanyike, Jude Mbabali, Moses Kasibante, J.B. Kakooza, Kenneth Paul Kakande, and Derrick Mutema.
“The party is willing to assist candidates in fighting malpractices or the results themselves,†Ssebaana said.
Ssebaana’s two-hour statement dwelt on cataloging the EC failures.
He said the presidential and parliamentary elections Act provided that declaration forms for the results be signed by the candidate’s agents but that the EC was accepting as “true documents,†forms which had not been signed by the agents.
He also said the EC did not prepare for contingencies like rain and weather changes, which led to ballot papers being mishandled on the polling day.
He said there were cases of ballot papers not being checked before voting and ballot boxes getting filled up without any replacement.
He also blamed the EC for giving lists of voters to candidates four days to the polling day, making it hard for the candidates to distribute the lists to their agents before the election day.
He also said some results from districts were being relayed by fax or telephone instead of the official tally sheets.
Ends
THE Democratic Party (DP) president, John Ssebaana Kizito, yesterday said he respects the results of the February 23 presidential elections won by President Museveni. Ssebaana blamed the rains on polling day for his dismal performance in the race, where he came third with 1.58%.
He also said the ground was not level because of the continued existence of the Movement, giving Museveni the advantage of using State resources to campaign for the NRM party.
Ssebaana, however, added that he had to accept the results for the sake of peace and continuity of the nation and not because the results were legitimate.
“Taking into account all that has taken place, we shall respect the results of the presidential elections. However, we shall respect the results not for their legitimacy, but for the sake of peace and continuity,†Ssebaana said.
Addressing the press at the DP national headquarters in Kabusu, a Kampala suburb, Ssebaana accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of incompetence, saying it left the electoral process vulnerable to “massive election malpractices.â€
Ssebaana was flanked by his predecessor, Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere and the party secretary general, Professor Richard Ebil Ottoo.
He said the party had set up a legal team to battle for the party’s parliamentary candidates who lost through malpractices. He said their lawyers were collecting evidence to be used in the election petitions.
Some of the party candidates contesting their defeat are Betty Nambooze, Sarah Kanyike, Jude Mbabali, Moses Kasibante, J.B. Kakooza, Kenneth Paul Kakande, and Derrick Mutema.
“The party is willing to assist candidates in fighting malpractices or the results themselves,†Ssebaana said.
Ssebaana’s two-hour statement dwelt on cataloging the EC failures.
He said the presidential and parliamentary elections Act provided that declaration forms for the results be signed by the candidate’s agents but that the EC was accepting as “true documents,†forms which had not been signed by the agents.
He also said the EC did not prepare for contingencies like rain and weather changes, which led to ballot papers being mishandled on the polling day.
He said there were cases of ballot papers not being checked before voting and ballot boxes getting filled up without any replacement.
He also blamed the EC for giving lists of voters to candidates four days to the polling day, making it hard for the candidates to distribute the lists to their agents before the election day.
He also said some results from districts were being relayed by fax or telephone instead of the official tally sheets.
Ends