- Military took over law enforcement operations in Uganda last week warning firm action against any dissent ahead of and during this week’s election.
- Heavily armed security forces, from the army and military police, were reported to be patrolling the capital Kampala and other towns.
Military took over law enforcement operations in Uganda last week warning firm action against any dissent ahead of and during this week’s election. On Jan 14, Ugandans will vote in a general election to elect a president and members of parliament after a campaign marked by violence that has killed dozens of people. Heavily armed security forces, from the army and military police, were reported to be patrolling the capital Kampala and other towns.
After 35 years in power, President Yoweri Museveni is seeking his sixth elected term in the office with pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine being the main rival among
10 challengers. There have been widespread accusations from Human rights groups of security forces using excessive force to break up opposition rallies during the campaign. But the government justified the action saying that strong measures were necessary to ensure people comply with a ban on large crowds due to the coronavirus pandemic.The opposition alleges that the military deployments are an attempt to intimidate voters and opposition supporters in order to suppress voter turnout and enable vote-rigging.
The attempts of the main opposition parties, FDC and NUP, to operate independent tally centers to collect and verify results was stalled after the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Justice Simon Byabakama last week warned that cameras will not be allowed at the polling stations and that voters would also be required to leave after casting their ballots to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It may be recalled that during the 2016 election, police raided the FDC tally centre, confiscated declaration forms and computers, and arrested some party officials.
