Commonwealth Faults Election for Missing Standards

Tabu Butagira

14 April 2011

The February 18 election that incumbent President Museveni won with 68 per cent “did not fully meet national, regional and international standards for democratic elections”, the Commonwealth Observer Group has declared.

In its final report, the team headed by Ms Dame Billie Miller, the former Barbados deputy prime minister, singles out “overwhelming” abuse of incumbency, lack of a level playing field and commercialisation of politics as having spoilt the ballot.

“The NRM, the ruling party in Uganda, is by far the largest and best-resourced and, after many years in power, elements of the state structure are synonymous with the party,” the report reads in part.

It adds: “Reports of ‘commercialisation of politics’ through the distribution of vast amounts of money and gifts were most disturbing.”

Many other candidates, according to the report, offered cash and material gifts such as soap, salt, blankets, cooking oil, food and refreshments to be elected. Both the NRM and opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, or their agents, competed to bribe upcountry voters, particularly in up country areas such as Gulu District, the observers note.

The conclusion of doling out of inducements to influence voters, which the Commonwealth says was “widespread”, confirms earlier findings of separate pre-vote opinion surveys. The anomalies observed during the February 18 vote were a repeat of Commonwealth Observer Group’s concerns raised after the 2006 general elections, which the observers regretted government never addressed as recommended.

“It is, therefore, important that for the future, serious thought be given to election campaign financing and political party fundraising.”

Commercialised polls

Yesterday, NRM Spokesperson Mary Karooro Okurut acknowledged the “cancer” of commercialised politicking is ravaging Uganda. “Some of the things they are saying such as commercialisation of campaigns is real and a cancer we must deal with as a country,” she said, “I am sure they are not saying it is only the NRM that is involved.”

Ms Okurut, however, rejected the assertion that Mr Museveni abused the privilege of incumbency.

“All the candidates moved freely; there was no harassment or rigging. So what unlevelled playing field are they talking about?” she said.

“The problem with some of these international observers is that they reproduce what they read in sections of the media.” The opposition has rejected the election as a “sham” and vowed not to recognise Mr Museveni’s new regime. Four of the former candidates have called for mass uprising to remove President Museveni.

The Commonwealth team report indicts the Eng. Badru Kiggundu-led Electoral Commission for mismanaging the election exercise by employing ill-trained polling officials, disenfranchising thousands of voters and carving exclusive polling stations for soldiers, contrary to the law.

It notes that the random creation of new polling stations and shifting of voters between them caused confusion and frustration as those who had registered kept being bounced in search of their names, with many eventually not casting their ballot.

The team named the Daily Monitor as the newspaper that provided the most “balanced” coverage while the New Vision election reporting was more comprehensive while Nation Television (NTV) Uganda and Wavamuno Broadcasting Services (WBS) were judged to have given Mr Museveni and IPC flag bearer Kizza Besigye more publicity.

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