It's premature to question aspirants' academic papers - EC

It is still premature for an individual to petition the Electoral Commission (EC), seeking qualifications of persons who have expressed intent in aspiring for a political position, Abubaker Kayondo, the Commission's lawyer, has said. 

"Don't complain to the Electoral Commission before nominations. Only complain after nominations," he said, explaining that before nomination, a person who has expressed their desire to contest for a political position is not yet known to the commission. 

"If somebody is an aspiring candidate, that person is not yet within our ambits. So we can only provide information or documents if we have any order of the court. For any other need, to get such academic qualifications or documents, you wait until this person is nominated as a candidate, then you can inspect the documents," he added. 

"People trying to seek academic qualifications of persons who have expressed interest in contesting for a political office, are doing so prematurely," Kayondo further told New Vision. 

The media has been awash with reports of lawyers who have petitioned the commission over the academic qualifications of presidential candidates. 

First, it was Male Mabirizi, a perennial litigant, who through a petition got access to presidential hopeful, Robert Kyagulanyi's academic papers.  

His argument was that Kyagulanyi's academic details as provided by Parliament create doubt as to whether the qualifications are authentic. He said the years of attainment of the qualifications do not tally with the Kyadondo East legislator's age. The case is currently in court. 

Before the dust could settle on the Mabarizi petition, another lawyer, Nkunyingi Muwada, wrote to EC, seeking President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni's academic credentials used for the 2016 presidential nominations. This request has been declined by the EC.

The commission, in its letter, addressed to Muwada & Co. Advocates, said that " academic documents for candidate Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as presented in 2016 did not require verification since they are governed under section 4 (15)of the Presidential Elections Act (as amended). 

The section states, "for the avoidance of doubt, if a candidate has an advanced level certificate obtained in Uganda or qualifications higher than the prescribed qualification obtained in Uganda or obtained from the former University of East Africa or any of its constituent colleges, then, there shall be no need for the verification of his or her qualifications by the National Council for Higher Education." 

Kayondo said pre-polling complaints can only be made after nominations. These, he said, are first lodged with the district returning officer, who institutes the district complaint handling committee to handle the dispute. 

When the complainant isn't satisfied with the decision of the committee, they can then petition the commission. And if this too fails, they go to the High Court, which in this instance is the last appellate body.