The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Makerere University Guild elections were on Friday marred by technical glitches.
Each college had a single link to the voting portal, which led to a page with a list of candidates who were specifically running for that college. These links were released by the electoral commission on Thursday and circulated in different WhatsApp groups for students.
The portal has sections, Guild President, GRC School, GRC for halls, and many others.
As the students commenced virtual voting, certain individuals were caught off guard by messages, indicating that they had already cast their votes, yet they were accessing their portals for the first time while others received error messages, hindering their access to the portal.
Additionally, some first-year students and finalists faced hurdles while logging in to the portal, whereas numerous students were unable to access the platform from outside the university.
Robert Maseruka, one of the candidates said that many students have failed to log in to vote.
Eric Osinde, the aspiring GRC school of business said the University should adopt alternative measures that enable students to vote quickly.
He noted that a number of students, who are using their smartphones to cast their ballots, encountered difficulties in navigating the system, resulting in frequent demands for guidance and ultimately impeding the timely conclusion of the electoral process.
Tomson Byensi, one of the voters said that he was forced to look for a computer after failing to access the portal using his smartphone.
URN reporter also observed several candidates talking to groups of students canvassing for votes around the University, while many other students were seen wearing tags of their preferred candidates.
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URN
