Activists castigate EC for denying the public vital information

INFORMATION|EC|PUBLIC

KAMPALA - Civil society groups have castigated the Electoral Commission (EC) for denying the public vital information, which they said damages the credibility of the institution.

Suzan Agwang, the programme manager for the African Freedom of Information Center (AFIC), said in a study they carried out, the EC emerged as one of the worst performers in responding to information requests from the public.

"There is a government procurement portal where information regarding procurements is requested for.

But the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) reports indicate that the EC disclosure of procurement information was at only 4%.

They easily give information on procurement plans, but when it comes to the real contracts awarded and details pertaining to them, including the money, the information is rarely given," Agwang stated.

She made the remarks during a public discourse on the challenges in the implementation of the Access to Information Act at Fairway Hotel in Kampala on Thursday (November 26, 2020).

Agwang further noted that when they examined how various state institutions respond to requests for information on the ‘Ask Your Government' online platform, the EC was the worst in responding to requests as most people who ask for information do not get a response.

The executive director of AFIC, Gilbert Ssendugwa, argued that the public trust in the EC is low partly because of the institution's failure to disclose relevant information.

"Nearly 40% of Uganda's registered voters do not turn up to vote partly because they do not trust the electoral processes.

The EC needs to improve in the area of availing vital information to the public as part of the measures to improve transparency and credibility of our electoral processes," Ssendugwa stated.

During a random sampling of the participants on how many had to trust in the EC, none of the over 40 people raised a hand to show that they trust the electoral body.

The AFIC boss noted that in the 2016 general election, close to half a million votes were invalid. He attributed this to the EC's failure to carry out sufficient voter education.

Ssendugwa faulted the EC for denying information requests to members of the public regarding the National Resistance Movement presidential candidate, Yoweri Museveni, arguing that they did not have any legal grounds for objecting.

AFIC called for the scrapping off of the over-the-top (OTT) tax, which they said limits Ugandans from accessing information on the internet.

The Citizen' Coalition for Electoral Democracy (CCEDU) executive director, Charity Ahimbisibwe, expressed disappointment that the EC has, on several occasions, declined to give them information regarding the voters' register, polling stations, money spent on various activities, and many other things.

"When we asked the EC how much money they are spending on printing the ballot papers, how much they spent on the nominations, and who the polling officials are, they did not provide us with the information.

It is never supposed to be secret information," Ahimbisibwe stated. Gerald Koraneza, the assistant project manager for the Alliance for Finance Monitoring, told participants that three times, they asked the EC to avail them with accountability reports submitted by the political parties, but these were never availed to them.

EC responds 

When contacted, the EC spokesperson, Paul Bukenya, said: "It is not true that the EC refuses to avail vital information to the public. This information is always availed in our published reports, website, and statutory reports to Parliament and the Auditor General."

Responding to the allegation that the EC refused to give AFIC results of the 2011 elections for every polling station, Bukenya said: "The EC later released that information to the public. We are a public body, which is always ready and willing to release information that members of the public request for."