Ugandans are free to verify the voters’ register from Aug 11 to 31
Aug 05, 2010
EDITOR—On July 31, Manzi Tumubweine wrote a letter entitled “Revisit voter registerâ€. Tumubweine expresses doubt on the voter registration statistics published by the Electoral Commission (EC) at the end of the update of the national voters’
EDITOR—On July 31, Manzi Tumubweine wrote a letter entitled “Revisit voter registerâ€. Tumubweine expresses doubt on the voter registration statistics published by the Electoral Commission (EC) at the end of the update of the national voters’
register. He argues that a figure of 15,000,336 million registered voters is inconsistent with the statistics released by the Uganda Bureau of Standards (UBOS). The statistics indicate that Uganda’s population in 2009 was 30,661,290, with the population of persons above 18 years (eligible voters) at 12,593,900 or 41%.
The EC wishes to clarify that there is no deliberate attempt to inflate the voters’ register as Tumubweine insinuates.
While the UBOS figures were a projection of the population increase, the EC has published actual figures from the recently concluded update exercise in which a total of 5,037,079 records were captured. Out of this figure, 4,624,602 persons registered as new voters,
355,453 persons applied for transfer of voting location, and 57,024 existing voters (whose photographs were missing on the register) had their photos retaken.
Except for areas which have held by-elections, the 2006 voter register has not been cleaned and therefore includes persons who have died since the last display before the 2006 general elections.
There is an opportunity for Ugandans to verify the 15,000,336 voters on this register, from August 11 to 31. The purpose of this display exercise is to enable voters to check for the correctness of their particulars on the register. They will also be able to raise objections to any ineligible inclusion.
Cleaning the voters’ register is a critical stage in achieving free and fair elections, and Ugandans should actively participate in this exercise.
Charles Willy Ochola
Ag Principal Public
Relations Officer
Electoral Commission
register. He argues that a figure of 15,000,336 million registered voters is inconsistent with the statistics released by the Uganda Bureau of Standards (UBOS). The statistics indicate that Uganda’s population in 2009 was 30,661,290, with the population of persons above 18 years (eligible voters) at 12,593,900 or 41%.
The EC wishes to clarify that there is no deliberate attempt to inflate the voters’ register as Tumubweine insinuates.
While the UBOS figures were a projection of the population increase, the EC has published actual figures from the recently concluded update exercise in which a total of 5,037,079 records were captured. Out of this figure, 4,624,602 persons registered as new voters,
355,453 persons applied for transfer of voting location, and 57,024 existing voters (whose photographs were missing on the register) had their photos retaken.
Except for areas which have held by-elections, the 2006 voter register has not been cleaned and therefore includes persons who have died since the last display before the 2006 general elections.
There is an opportunity for Ugandans to verify the 15,000,336 voters on this register, from August 11 to 31. The purpose of this display exercise is to enable voters to check for the correctness of their particulars on the register. They will also be able to raise objections to any ineligible inclusion.
Cleaning the voters’ register is a critical stage in achieving free and fair elections, and Ugandans should actively participate in this exercise.
Charles Willy Ochola
Ag Principal Public
Relations Officer
Electoral Commission