Voter register update ends
Oct 29, 2005
THE Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday said it would not extend the voter registration exercise, saying an extension would affect the coming elections.
By Herbert Ssempogo
THE Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday said it would not extend the voter registration exercise, saying an extension would affect the coming elections.
EC secretary Sam Rwakojo said, “We are certainly not going to extend the exercise. Were those people lining up twenty-nine days ago?â€
He said elections had to take place between February and March 12, next year, adding: “If you want the elections to go ahead, please do not push the EC.†Rwakojo said calling for an extension would warrant a referendum to extend the presidential term.
As he made the comments, a long queue of people from different walks of life formed outside the EC offices where registration was taking place.
Rwakojo, however, said the EC would ensure that all those who turned up before the close of business would be registered.
“Anybody who turns up today and is already in the line will be registered,†he said. He attributed the queues at some polling centres to the Ugandan culture whereby people want to do things towards the deadline, adding that they were not of EC’s making.
“Ugandans want to wait until the last minute. If the lines you see today were there a few days ago then you would have said there was a problem,†he said.
Rwakojo said registration was affected by minor problems like camera batteries but added that they were often quickly rectified.
On reports that President Yoweri Museveni wanted to request for an extension, Rwakojo said, “The President is a reasonable man and has not requested for an extension.â€
Asked why they chose to register on the final day of the exercise, the people in the queue at EC gave varying reasons.
“Some of us travel a lot so we did not have time to register before.
“This is the reason we chose to do it today,†Sula Kasirye, 29, of Zana, Entebbe Road, said.
Joyce Kirya, 34, of Lungujja said there were no registration forms by the time she got to her polling station.
THE Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday said it would not extend the voter registration exercise, saying an extension would affect the coming elections.
EC secretary Sam Rwakojo said, “We are certainly not going to extend the exercise. Were those people lining up twenty-nine days ago?â€
He said elections had to take place between February and March 12, next year, adding: “If you want the elections to go ahead, please do not push the EC.†Rwakojo said calling for an extension would warrant a referendum to extend the presidential term.
As he made the comments, a long queue of people from different walks of life formed outside the EC offices where registration was taking place.
Rwakojo, however, said the EC would ensure that all those who turned up before the close of business would be registered.
“Anybody who turns up today and is already in the line will be registered,†he said. He attributed the queues at some polling centres to the Ugandan culture whereby people want to do things towards the deadline, adding that they were not of EC’s making.
“Ugandans want to wait until the last minute. If the lines you see today were there a few days ago then you would have said there was a problem,†he said.
Rwakojo said registration was affected by minor problems like camera batteries but added that they were often quickly rectified.
On reports that President Yoweri Museveni wanted to request for an extension, Rwakojo said, “The President is a reasonable man and has not requested for an extension.â€
Asked why they chose to register on the final day of the exercise, the people in the queue at EC gave varying reasons.
“Some of us travel a lot so we did not have time to register before.
“This is the reason we chose to do it today,†Sula Kasirye, 29, of Zana, Entebbe Road, said.
Joyce Kirya, 34, of Lungujja said there were no registration forms by the time she got to her polling station.