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

REGISTRATION, REGISTERS, VOTERS CARDS, DISPLAY, POLLING STATIONS AND AGENTS

Let me now briefly consider the submissions and evidence on Registration, Registers, Voters’ Cards, Display of Registers, Polling Stations and Polling Agents.

I have summarised the contentions of all the sides as put forth by their respective counsel. In the petition, the complaints are set out in paragraphs 3(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (g), (h), (i), (j), (I), (n), (p), (q), (r), (5), (u), x and y. The two respondents denied these complaints in their affidavits accompanying their respective answers and in the affidavits of their witnesses especially the CAOS cum-Returning officers and their various assistants who are collectively called in the Electoral Commission Act as election officers.

In his affidavit, the Petitioner deponed that he appointed agents to all Polling Stations throughout Uganda before the creation of new stations. He complained of the sudden creation and the existence of new and at the eleventh-hour, of ungazetted Polling Stations. Chairman Kasujja does not deny the creation. He instead nicely described it as splitting the stations. The complaint by the Petitioner is of the failure by the second respondent to avail him (the Petitioner) copies of Final National Voters Register for which he was prepared to pay. He and his agents needed the copies of the voters Registers for use during the polling day. The Petitioner complained of failure by the second respondent to display the voters Register for 21 days. This omission certainly contravenes S.25 (1) of ECA; the respondents have conceded this much but argued, in the alternative, that this failure is not fatal under S.58 (6) (c) of PEA, an argument which I find relevant to issues No3.

Again the candidates (except the first respondent) in their joint letter of 7/3/ 2001 (supra) wrote to Chairman Kasujja and complained about insecurity and the serious flaws in the electoral process. These flaws included the delayed display of cleaned final voters register, excessive voters, excessive voters’ cards, blank voters’ cards, the poor quality of voters’ cards, the concerns about the number of Polling Stations, the campaign on behalf of the first respondent by partisan Army officers, RDCs, DISO and GISOs. Many of these army officers, RDC, DISO and GISO officials carried out not ordinary campaigning but terror and harassment. Examples are Captain Ndahura, Captain Hon. Byaruhanga and others. Chairman Kasujja replied the letter and (at page 2 of the reply) admitted the genuiness of some of the complaints. In fact he accepted that by 8/3/2001 the Final Voters Register was not ready. He admitted the intrusion by strangers into the Data Processing Centre by strangers but played down the possible harm involved and claimed that the electoral system had not been affected. In effect he admitted that the Army Officers, RDCs, DISOs and GISO had been campaigning for the first respondent but he sought to dampen the effect of this by saying that the involvement by these officers had decreased. There is evidence in the affidavits of both sides, i.e. in support of the petitioner and against Petitioner pointing out the acts of non-compliance with provisions of PEA. The affidavits in support of the respondents are to the effect that there was compliance with the PEA, 2000. Whilst it must be accepted that each side will naturally offer evidence in the affidavit to support it side, I think that in the circumstances of this petition, the respondents’ deponents, many of whom happen to be public officers, and who may seek to protect their jobs must have given their evidence to protect their positions and or even cover up their misdeeds and failures in the case of those working on electoral work. I have taken pains to find a sound reason why many of the ordinary witnesses should give evidence, which implicated public officials. I am not persuaded that an ordinary citizen supporter of a presidential candidate has anything to gain by telling lies other than speaking the truth about what happened during the Presidential election campaign.