Register Display Begins Next Week

Flora Nkurukenda, the deputy chairperson of the Electoral Commission, has said the voters register will be displayed next week, reports John Odyek. Hajji Aziz Kasujja, the commission chairman, said yesterday the commission would reduce the number of days for the display of the voters' register from the man required 21 days. There are less than 21 days to the presidential elections scheduled for March 7. "We have special powers to change or put a stop on any laws which are not in the Constitution," he said. "We are going to reduce the time of the display of the voters' register,'' Kasujja said during a visit by the Public Relations Association to the commission head offices in Kampala. Kasujja said the commission was working 24 hours a day because of the few days left to the polling date to update and display the voters' register. Kasujja said, "I am worried of March 7 only. I want Ugandans to vote as long as I am here and not axed. There are many people against us but we will continue," he said. He said he had not written to Lithotec, the South African firm expected to supply ballot papers for the elections. There are complaints surrounding the supply of the ballot papers. He said any complaints relating to the tender for the supply of the ballot papers should be directed to the Central Tender Board and SWIPCO Uganda. Kasujja said the commission would set up a tribunal of three local council officials, an elder and a parish chief for polling stations with powers to delete names of ghost voters. Patrick Byakagaba, the commission's acting head civic education, said the Government had only released sh650m of the sh3.5b budgeted for civic education. He said the 5,000 civic educators, with one per parish, were few and the exercise would end this month because of limited finance. Ends