ELECTORAL COMMISSION: Voters register, not IDs, will be key

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s Electoral Commission is set re-organize polling stations, and warned that no one not on the voter’s register will be allowed to vote, even if they have national identity cards.

The commission vice chairperson, Hajat Aisha Lubega disclosed this during a meeting with electoral officials at Imperial Royale hotel in Kampala on Monday that discussed plans for the next elections.

She said the Electoral Commission has set Tuesday September 02, 2019 to September 14th 2019 as the time for the demarcation of electoral areas for local government councils and re-organisation of polling stations in Uganda and newly-created municipalities, municipal divisions, town councils and sub counties, wards and parishes.

She said the Commission is mandated under section 10, 23,108,109 and 110 of the local government act (cap243) to demarcate electoral areas for representation.

Demarcation of electoral areas is the process of identifying and creating electoral areas for purposes of representation of citizen in accordance with the law. Whereas, reorganization of polling stations involves placing voters in the right polling stations in an electoral area.

The purpose is to enable voters to easily access their polling stations during the national voter’s register update exercise and voting. According to Lubega, they are currently sensitizing the stake holders on the General elections roadmap, demarcation of electoral areas and reorganization of polling stations.

Lubega says no one will be allowed to vote as long as they don’t appear on the voter’s register even if they have national identity cards.

Gerald Siranda, the Democratic Party Secretary General, said the time allocated for registration and display of the voter’s register is insufficient.

Chrispin Kaheru, the Coordinator Citizen Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda-CCEDU, asked Electoral Commission to consider the number of people in the areas when they are demarcating and reorganizing the polling station.

Kaheru added that the stake holders should pay a lot of attention to the demarcation of electoral areas to avoid ghost polling station and villages.

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