Ballot Paper Samples Out

THE Electoral Commission will today display samples of ballot papers for the March 7 presidential elections to the press and agents of the six candidates, reports Felix Osike. The seven-tonne consignment arrived from South Africa on Sunday aboard a Das Air Cargo plane. Flora Nkurukenda, the commission's deputy chairperson, on Sunday rejected demands by candidate Col. Kizza Besigye's representative, Gersom Oketcho, to see a sample of the ballot papers immediately. "We are not going to open anything at the moment. We will show you samples when we open on Tuesday," she said. A South African-based company, Lithotec, won the contract to supply the ballot papers. The consignment is part of a larger 30-tonne shipment of 10 million ballot papers, expected to be delivered this week. The remaining 23 tons will be delivered on February 22 and 27. Meanwhile, foreign election monitors begin arriving in the country this week. Teddy Mugote, the commission's assistant public relations officer, said three officials from the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, John Shepherd, Dr. Victor Pungong and Miss Kihwer Falker, had already confirmed their participation. The commission recently wrote to the foreign affairs ministry to invite organisations who may wish to monitor the elections alongside donor countries represented here by their ambassadors. A general invitation has been given to all countries. Invitations have also been extended to independent organisations like the African Administration on Election Associations, the US-based International Federation of Election systems, and the Organisation of African Unity. A Japanese embassy official in Kampala yesterday said two officials from its embassy in Nairobi would also monitor the elections. Ends