Govt warns candidates against campaigning before EC roadmap

Oct 20, 2020

Minister Judith Nabakooba said open public campaigns and processions do not conform to the COVID-19 guidelines

The Government has warned nominated candidates against holding campaign meetings and rallies and advised they wait until the Electoral Commission (EC) issues an official roadmap.

The election campaigns will be guided by the COVID-19 guidelines, which according to Judith Nabakooba, the information computer technology and national guidance minister, said ‘strictly outlaw any activity that brings together big crowds'.

In a statement the minister said it had been observed that some candidates took to the campaign trail after nomination and later held rallies where they addressed crowds, which she said was outside the campaign guidelines.

"I would like to inform all candidates and the general public that it is not yet time for campaigning. The EC is currently working on a campaign roadmap that will act as a guide for all candidates," Nabakooba told journalists during a weekly press briefing on Sunday.

According to sources, the EC is expected to release a campaign roadmap today, but campaigns will not be allowed until after the presidential nominations.

"The campaign roadmap is expected to be released soon and candidates are, therefore, advised to wait for guidance from the EC," she explained.

The minister said open public campaigns and processions do not conform to the COVID-19 guidelines, which she said put lives of people at risk of infection.

Nabakooba said Uganda had surpassed the 10,000 coronavirus mark in terms of confirmed cases, with a current total infection standing at 10,334 and 96 deaths. She also cautioned media houses to protect their employees against COVID-19 by giving them protective gadgets, including masks, saying they were at high risk since they meet many different people in the field.

On the violation of EC guidelines and non-compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, the minister advised the public to join the struggle and shoot videos of these meetings and any other gatherings.

Nabakooba advised that the videos would be used as evidence to report such cases with the Police and pin candidates that violate them.

She, however, declined to comment on the recent incident where the Police and other security agencies who allegedly confiscated campaign posters of the National Unity Platform and people who had embarked on defacing party flag-bearer Robert Kyagulanyi's posters.

Nabakooba said she was not in a position to know who goes onto the streets to destroy the posters, but explained that it was the role of the EC and the Police to warn the public against tampering with candidates' posters.

She said such matters can be reported to the Police since they were criminal in nature.

Nabakooba thanked parents and guardians, who she said had worked hard to ensure their children in candidate classes return to school and applauded schools that have so far complied with the health ministry guidelines on the COVID-19 pandemic. She appealed to the students to continue following the guidelines to stay safe.

Rejection of students

Responding to concerns that some schools were allegedly rejecting students who had not yet cleared first term school fees dues, Nabakooba said the Government could not commit itself on administrative issues, especially in private schools.

"But the Ministry of Education and Sports will continue engaging the respective schools to find a way forward regarding the matter," the minister said.

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