The republic of uganda in the supreme court of uganda at kampala

(a) to preserve and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda;

(b) to co-operate with the civilian authority in emergency situations and in cases of natural disasters; and

(c) to foster harmony and understanding between the Defence Forces and civilians.”

He submitted that UPDF as an active force cannot allow the country to disintegrate. The learned Solicitor General referred to the affidavits of Chairman Kasujja and contended that the National Voters Register has existed since 1993 and that it has been maintained and updated continuously. He referred to the affidavits of some of the Chief Administrative officers (CAOs): such as of Kisoro District, Balaba of Mayuge District, Barnabas of Mubende District and G. Bwanika of Kayunga District who deponed that registers existed.

On display, the learned Solicitor-General conceded that the display period was less than the 21 days stipulated by S.25 of ECA (3/97) but he argued that the Commission had powers under S.38 to display registers for less than 21 days; that even if the display was for a shorter period, the exercise was successful because the register was cleaned up by reducing the number of registered voters as explained in paragraph 28 of Chairman Kasujja affidavit. He argued that the Commission was hard pressed on time.

The Solicitor-General argued that it is the duty of the petitioner to prove that non-compliance affected the Presidential election in a substantial manner. That the Petitioner did not produce figures to show that the shorter period of display affected the results contending that because the display was done at village level, more voters had access to the registers for verification. On voters’ cards, learned Solicitor-General submitted that it is not mandatory under S.26 of ECA to issue voters cards. That Article 59(1) of the Constitution gives citizens the right to vote but that S. 19 of ECA prohibit persons who are not registered from voting. He referred to paragraphs 1 5 and 16 of chairman Kassujja’s affidavit and annexture R7 thereto and submitted that the Commission gave effect to the provisions of Article 59(1) of the Constitution and S.19 (1) of ECA (Act 3/97). He contended that in this petition there was no evidence of the number of persons affected by not voting because of lack of cards.

On Polling Stations and the splitting of Polling Stations, the learned Solicitor- General referred to para 7 of Chairman Kasujja’s supplementary affidavit where the Chairman mentions Nursery school N-Z Katwe II Polling Station, which was split, and where the petitioner got majority votes and submitted that the petitioner had agents at the new Polling Stations. He also relied on the affidavit of candidate Francis Bwengye in which candidate Bwengye averred that he was not aware of the chasing of candidates’ agents. The Solicitor General referred to “apparent falsification” of results in the constituencies of Makindye and Mawokota and submitted that if there were any falsifications, this was due to human error and not to deliberate acts by anybody. He submitted that the affidavits in rebuttal show that there were no ghost voters, no foreigners voting, no underage voting, no pre-ticking of ballot papers, no multiple voting, that there was no ballot stuffing of polling boxes as alleged by the petitioner and his supporters in their respective affidavits. He argued that if there were any ghost voters or any multiple voting or any ballot stuffing or falsification of results or any other errors, they did not affected the results in a substantial manner.

Like Dr. Byamugisha and Dr. Khaminwa, the Solicitor-General contended that the Petitioner and his Counsel have been unable to prove by number of the votes complained of which could affect the result in favour of the Petitioner. He referred to various affidavits sworn and filed in support of the reply by the Commission and in rebuttal of the affidavits sworn in support of the petition. These affidavits include several sworn by Chairman Kasujja, those sworn by some Chief Administrate Officers in their capacities as Returning officers or District Registrars, of their respective Districts, e.g., of Kisoro, Mubende, Ntungamwo, Kayunga, Yumbe, Bushenyi, Kasese and Kabale. He also relied on affidavits of the Commander of the Army, of John Kisembo, (Inspector-General of Police), former Presidential candidate (Francis Bwengye) and other persons such as Magumba Arajabu from Mbale, Tumuhairwe and Juma Majid. The learned Solicitor General asked us to answer issue No.1 in the negative.