Boda-Boda in voter education and mobilisation campaign

Apr 22, 2015

The Citizen’s Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) has unveiled a partnership to work together with the Boda-boda fraternity to boost participation in the ongoing Electoral Commission Voter Register Update and Display exercise that is taking place from 7th – 30th April 2015.

The Citizen’s Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) has unveiled a partnership to work together with the Boda-boda cyclists to boost participation in the ongoing Electoral Commission Voter Register Update and Display exercise that is taking place from 7th – 30th April 2015.

This partnership is part of the recently launched voter education and mobilization campaign dubbed ‘Votability’ which is meant to popularize the Voter Register Update and Display Exercise (VRUDE) and in turn change attitudes of the electorate to positively embrace the electoral process.

Speaking during the partnership event aimed at switching on the Boda-boda fraternity to get their Votability on, Crispy Kaheru Coordinator Citizen’s Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) said, ‘CCEDU is accredited by the Electoral Commission to conduct voter education across the country with a mandate to mobilize all Ugandans aged eighteen (18) years and above to peacefully and actively participate in the general Voter Register Update that is taking place in every parish/ ward in Uganda from 7th – 30th April 2015 from 8am to 6pm on each of the appointed dates, including weekends (Saturday, Sunday) and Public holidays. To that end, CCEDU has recently launched the Votability campaign which is a combination of the words “vote” and “ability”, which basically refers to the eligibility, ability, preparedness, and exercising of your right as a citizen to vote.’

Kaheru added that the Votability campaign entails various activities aimed at reaching all eligible voters across Uganda to include: Experiential road shows, Advertising, Radio and Television messaging, Social media and Online updates and promotional material among others. 

Kaheru added that the purpose of the general Voter Register Update exercise is to register eligible Ugandan citizens of eighteen (18) years and above who are not yet registered as voters. However, all persons who registered during the mass enrollment for issuance of the National Identity Cards, and were successfully verified as Ugandan citizens, will not be required to register again during this update exercise because the Electoral Commission has already extracted their particulars from the National Identification Register. Further still, the exercise is aimed at enabling eligible voters to scrutinize and confirm that their particulars appear on the Voters’ Register at the voting locations of their choice and also seeks to prevent or at least minimize the exclusion of eligible voters.

The Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) is a broad civil society coalition founded in 2009 with membership of over 800 civil society organisations and representative of the various interest groups that advocate for comprehensive electoral democracy in Uganda. The overriding agenda of this coalition is to advocate and promote integrity, transparency and active citizen participation in Uganda’s electoral process.

Kaheru concluded by noting that the quality of life depends on the leaders one chooses and urged all eligible Ugandan voters to go verify their details with the New Voter Register at their respective polling stations and making sure they are on there.

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