The Electoral commission will finalize the gazette of newly elected Members of Parliament by Tuesday next week. This was revealed by the minister of Justice and constitutional Affairs Kahinda Otafire while responding to the concerns of MPs of Kasese district that the electoral commission delayed to gazette them yet other MPs in other places were gazetted quickly though were voted much later than those in Kasese.

Otafire says that the results of all members of parliament will be made public by Tuesday, saying that the delay was caused by unforeseen circumstances. MPS especially from Kasese were worried that the electoral commission delayed to gazette them to give room to their opponents whom they had defeated to challenge their election in court.

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EC Officials

Civil Society Organizations have renewed their call for disbanding of the entire Electoral Commission over credibility of the 2016 elections.  Speaking to the press about the post elections at NGO offices at Kabalagala, the Executive Director NGO forum Richard Ssewakiryanga says the irregularities that marred this year’s election justify the incredibility of the electoral commission which should not be seen in any other election. These pin electoral commission for failing to organize a free and fair election which Ugandans had for long cried for.

Meanwhile, these are as well worried about the disruption of stability the sense of injustice can trigger especially when some political heads are denied their freedom and rights even in cases when they want to seek justice. Ssewakiryanga says this unprofessional and partisan conduct of the police force might see Ugandans turn to violence.

On the same note, Imam Kasozi, of the Uganda Muslim Youth Assembly notes that the country cannot be at peace without justice hence a call for united effort to ensure that justice prevails in the country.

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Photo: Daily Monitor

The electoral commission chairman, Eng. Badru Kigundu has today displayed before the media a dummy of the ballot papers to be used by voters while casting the presidential elections vote across the country. While displaying the paper before the press at his head offices in Kampala, Kigundu said, the commission is ready now to send off the voting material to the different parts of the country noting that before send off all candidates will have to avail their representatives at the center where they will be packed and sent to all parts of the country.

Kigundu also warns candidates over holding campaigns over the legal time saying those candidates doing so will have to face the laws that govern the campaigns and electoral process.

He further raised serious apologies to the nation over the mismatch in the number of total voters on the final register and he now confirms that the commission only deleted 20,000 persons off the register and confirms that the total number of voters is over 15 million.

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The Uganda police has come out to correct the erroneous reports attributed to the electoral commission (EC) and reported in the media, regarding police investigation into complaints of electoral fraud in the recent by election of Kasese woman MP representatives.

The police spokesperson Simon Kutesa says that EC contends that the arrest of the Kasese district returning officer on Saturday 11^th August this year, interupted the timely transmission of election results by the returning officer. He says that the EC further claims that the police took away all documents required to gazete Kasese district woman MP election results.

Kutesa says that the information EC gave out was not correct. He says that the criminal investigation directorate of the Uganda police force received several complaints ranging from outright electoral fraud to specific incidences of electoral malpractice during that by election in Kasese. Kutesa says that on Thursday the 9^th of August this year, the day after that by elections, police detectives contacted the district returning officer seeking clarification on matters raised in the received complaints. The returning officer informed the police that he was on his way to Kampala to file the statutory returns of the by election, and that he would return the following day.

Kutesa says that on Friday, detectives called the officer again and he assured them that he was still in Kampala at the EC head offices and he would travel back to Kasese later in the day. On Saturday the detectives called the officer several times and he claimed to be stuck in Kampala at the EC. The police leadership then requested the EC leadership to access its officer and they denied knowledge of his being in Kampala. The police then mounted a serach for the returning officer in Kasese and found him in his rural home in Kagango Sub County in Shema district. So Kutesa says that the claim by the EC that the police action interfered with timely transmission of the election results were false.

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The commission’s chairperson, Eng. Badru Kiggundu has asked the police to investigate all persons on LCI committees who forge the commission’s appointment letters.

Kiggundu says that the commission has received information that in Makindye Division in Kampala, some people last week forged EC appointment letters purporting that the commission had appointed them as LCI chairpersons.

Kiggundu says that most forgeries of the commission’s appointment letters have been taking place Sekindi, Upper Katuuso and Bukasa in Makindye division among others.

Kiggundu has told our informer that the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura has promised the commission that the force is to investigate those alleged forgeries to the last end. Kiggundu also says that the commission is preparing to organise fresh LCI polls. The LCI polls were last held in 2001.

By Christine Kate

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