New roadmap for 2021 polls shocked me, says Gen. Tumukunde

ELECTIONS | POLITICS |

Presidential aspirant Lt Gen (rtd) Henry Tumukunde has said he was shocked to see the Electoral Commission's (EC) revised roadmap for 2021 general elections after months of coronavirus lockdown.

"Imagine after such deep silence that is when somebody comes up and shocks you with a roadmap. Let EC find importance in the legitimacy and the credibility of an election. Once this ceases to be then you give excuses to very many other things," he said.

He said this on Wednesday while speaking to journalists at his office at Impala Avenue in Kololo. 

"The EC should call all of us (presidential aspirants) and we explain ourselves and our views to them that they may then choose a correct course that fits all of us. At the end of every election we have a court case and the ruling is always very clear. The ruling is always saying yes the election wasn't very correct but it would not have influenced the result of the election. That is a very interesting statement," he said.

The former security minister said there are many issues that need to be addressed before 2021 elections are held.

"When people are competing for votes it is like people struggling for food. If your candidate is about to win, do you want to tell me that social distance will matter, do you want to tell me that you won't enter houses in search of votes at night, do you want to tell me that curfew will work? I am not too sure especially when that temperature has reached certain levels," the former spy chief said.

According to the roadmap issued by EC chairman Justice Simon Byabakama early last week, no candidate in the forthcoming general elections will be allowed to hold political rallies.

All candidates will be expected to conduct ‘scientific' campaigns using TV, radio, and online platforms due to the COVID-19 crisis that is reshaping the world around us.

Read details of this story tomorrow in New Vision.