‘We want 2021 elections on time’

Patrick Amuriat, the president of the leading opposition party; the Forum for Democratic Party (FDC) has dismissed the idea of “using scientists to determine the future of the country’s electoral processes”.

“We should go in for these elections and I am sure that as FDC, we are going to win. Why should we postpone elections? There is no any law that permits the extension of elections. If the government wants to postpone elections, they should announce a state of emergency and conduct a referendum,” he said, adding that the government should support political parties to conduct campaigns using the media and also be allowed to do door-to-door campaign.

He has proposed that the Electoral Commission can make logistical changes such as extending the voting time from 5pm to 6pm and creating more polling stations to avoid crowding.

JEEMA President, Asuman Basalirwa, says elections are guided by the constitution and other electoral laws and that it should not be scientists to determine how, when and who should contest for elections.

“President Museveni and scientists can only just advise but cannot determine the calendar. We should utilise the current measures like wearing facemasks, social distancing and washing our hands to conduct the elections,” he said, adding that some countries such as Burundi and Mali have carried out elections amidst the pandemic.

Opposition out-muscled

Many political observers that spoke to The Independent say if the election were held today, President Museveni and his NRM leaders would win easily. They have received uninterrupted live radio and television broadcasts auspiciously to update the nation on the containment of COVID-19 and economy. But they have used the opportunity to score political points, persuade voters, and mobilise support.

Opposition politicians meanwhile appear to have been pushed out of the spotlight by the ruling National Resistant Movement (NRM) candidates including President Museveni.

The observers note that while opposition candidates could be striving to catch-up with events through the use of online channels, majority of the voters are not hooked onto the online platforms.

Crispin Kaheru, a renowned election expert told The Independent in interview that though all political parties may be affected as a result of COVID-19, the opposition will be the hardest hit.

He said most of the opportunities that have been presented due to COVID-19 have been grabbed by the incumbents.

“The ruling NRM holds the majority of the incumbent elected office bearers – at local government and parliamentary levels, besides holding the presidency,” he says.

Currently, the NRM party commands a large majority in parliament with 293 out of the total 426 MPs. The rest of the MPs totaling about 133 are shared among the opposition political parties namely Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Democratic Party (DP), Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), Justice Forum (JEEMA) and the Independents.

Similarly, the ruling party has majority of the Local Council’s leaders with 256,100 LC’s out of 303,460 LCs countrywide with the rest shared among the opposition political parties and the independents.

“The government decision to integrate elected officials in the COVID-19 taskforces at national, district and possibly constituency levels gives incumbent leaders incentive to engage in early campaigning in their respective areas where opponents are unable to reach due to movement and assembly restrictions,” Kaheru says.

He is referring the involvement of the special representatives of the president in every one of the 134 districts, called the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), security agencies, and health offices in COVID-19 containment.

Gerald Karyeija, an Associate Professor of Public Administration and Management at the Uganda Management Institute (UMI)  says it  would be naïve for any political actor not to see the opportunities that COVID-19 has brought to them; especially for those who are in already in  power.

“For example, when the president is about to make an address to the nation, the whole country is on nyamaza (quiet), listening to only him,  and after that the discussion is all about what he has said,” he said on one of the radio talk shows in Kampala.

“If you have noticed, the media is not even there to ask questions…So it is an opportunity that has presented itself for the president to rebuilt confidence in the public.”

He said the government’s decision to distribute food to Kampala and Wakiso District residents estimated to be more than 1.5million during the lockdown also gave NRM an edge to map out the electoral dynamics and also demonstrate that it can deliver services to the population.

Karyeija said President Museveni has also in the recent days managed to outsmart Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, and MPs with regard to the Shs10billion COVID-19 money for MPs saga.

The MPs had at the onset of the COVID-19 containment allocated themselves Shs20million each ostensibly to do supervisory and advocacy work in the government fight against COVID-19.

However following a backlash; especially from the public, President Museveni publicly criticised Kadaga and parliament for taking the money that would have been otherwise used in containing the pandemic and in rhythm with a court decision ordered the MPs to either return the money to the Parliamentary Service Commission, to the National COVID-19 Task Force, or their respective District COVID-19 Task Force.

This scenario, according to observers, painted Museveni as caring and generous and Kadaga and the MPs as greedy; always taking any opportunity to enrich themselves at the expense of the electorates.