We want peace after elections, not war

Feb 12, 2006

THE election “clock” is ticking very fast. It’s only 20 days left for us, the voters of this country, to decide who among the presidential candidates is fit to lead this country for the next five years.

Simon Njaye

THE election “clock” is ticking very fast. It’s only 20 days left for us, the voters of this country, to decide who among the presidential candidates is fit to lead this country for the next five years.

Ugandans who registered as voters will go to polls on February 23 to elect the next president and Members of Parliament (MPs). The Elections are expected to be free and fair, as usual — No easy journey to State House.


In the presidential race we have incumbent Yoweri Kaguta Museveni; Col. (rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye (President of Forum for Democratic Change, FDC); former Mayor of Kampala and President General of Democratic Party (DP) John Sebaana Kizito; former First Lady and Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) President General Miria Kalule Obote and Dr. Abed Bwanika, who is an independent candidate.


When one looks at the political dynamics in Uganda at the moment, there is propaganda especially being portrayed by different opinions in the mass media that the country may plunge into war before or after elections. This is not true as far as the forthcoming elections of February 23 are concerned. We, the voters, are the ones with the power to decide who will be our next leader by casting the ballots. If we the people of Uganda decide that the incumbent should be voted back for the third term (but in reality the fifth term), then he will continue.

But if, we the people of Uganda, through the ballot, decide that we need a change of the political leadership, then we will have no options but to elect a new leader from the other presidential candidate in the race.

I am confident that the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections on February 23 will be characterised by being free and fair with isolated minor incidents of violence in form of clashes which can’t warrant the situation to degenerate into war. Also there will be full deployment of security personnel, the army, police, intelligence and other security agencies to maintain law and order countrywide.

We should also remember that the international community, regional and local election monitors as well as the diplomats here will also give their final reports as observers.

Let the winners and the losers accept the final results as this is our first elections under the multiparty political system in 25 years since the 1980 polls who results were contested, leading to the five-year bush war that brought the NRM to power. For God and my country.

The writer is a freelance journalist

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