Why we should value voter registration

By Edson Kamagara

Soon Uganda would be going into the general elections for the presidential, parliamentary and local government general elections.

The mood is that many people, especially those who interested in the different political positions, have started gearing up.

This is good for the nation because it is the way to go in a democratic system of Governance. Remember democracy still means “the rule of the people, for the people and by the people”. This phrase means that a leader leads for others and by his leadership, others are leading whether they are in that position or not.

It is, however, unfortunate that some people up to now have not registered or checked their registration status with the next electoral commission office or the gazetted registration point. All citizens of age are encouraged to register so that they do not miss out on the voting process.

It is always unfortunate, when people reach the time of voting and find their names are not in the register.

Actually most of them blame the Electoral Commission sometimes claiming deregistration when actually they missed participating in the process of registration and checking their registration status. Let us be aware that like it is our fundamental right to eat, go to school, own property, join faith or a political party and other rights as citizens, it is also a fundamental right to vote.

If you miss voting because you never registered, it means you have not only missed choosing a leader of your choice but you have also missed on your fundamental right.

Many may think it is a waste of time lining up in this political process. The political process is the channel through which National resources are managed through policies and laws developed and implemented by people’s representatives.

This implies that the leaders we elect right from the village level are valuable in our National resource management. If bad leaders are elected, then there will be challenges in all sectors of the economy.  If one refuses to register and misses on voting, he/she has missed out on deciding on the management of the economy.

As we enter into this process, let us all be accountable to the affairs of our nation. Let us not shun this electoral process. We can continue doing our business, cultivating, grazing our animals and doing all sorts of sports because they are our survival lines, but spare a few minutes to go and check our registration status.

This activity is not for the electoral commission but for us as individuals.

Let us prepare to contribute to determining the future of our country by registering and choosing the leaders that can represent our wishes.

The writer is the programmes manager of the Great Lakes Centre for Governance and Accountability

glacegacega@gmai.com/ekamagara@yahoo.com