UHRC asks Museveni not to penalise north

Mar 08, 2006

THE Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has asked the Government not to penalise the people of northern Uganda for not voting NRM.

By Joyce Namutebi

THE Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has asked the Government not to penalise the people of northern Uganda for not voting NRM.

“This should be done in line with the government’s commitment to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the vulnerable populations in northern Uganda,” UHRC said in a statement on its polls report yesterday.

The report on the 2006 presidential and parliamentary elections was read out at a press conference at UHRC offices at Buganda Road by commissioner Aliro Omara.

“That clearly brought out the disenchantment of the people there (north) with insecurity and poverty, which have afflicted them for many years,” Omara said.

He concluded that the elections were “satisfactorily organised and fairly competitive, culminating into the free expression of the will of the electorate.”

He said, “It was commendable that it was held in peace and with acceptable transparency in spite of the problems encountered by the electoral Commission.”
Present were UHRC commissioners.

But in a summary, UHRC said, “Notwithstanding the fact that the election of February 23, 2006 was a success and reflected the will of the electorate, there were factors which ensured that the ground was not level for fair competitive politics.”

The commission said the NRM had monopolised the political playing field for the last 20 years, with the support of the Movement Secretariat.

“This was through a restrictive legal regime, which prevented parties from being formed or operating,” it said, adding that the laws were not reviewed until 2005 and delayed re-organisation of parties.

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