Human rights activists are calling for the resignation of the Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson justice Simon Byabakama.
This followed Wednesday’s joint security forces raid on the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) head offices in Kamwokya in an operation purportedly aimed at seizing banned military attire and stopping illegal use of government stores.
However, the leaders of the party said the operatives made off with several valuables from the offices, including cash and signatures meant for the nomination of NUP’s leader, also Kyadondo East Member of Parliament Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu.
The executive director of Centre for Constitutional Governance, Ms Sarah Bireete says if Kyagulanyi does not recover these forms in time, he may fail to beat today’s deadline set by the electoral commission.
“The constitution of Uganda mandates the commission’s chairperson to organise a free and fair elections by creating favorable avenues for all politicians to participate freely without interruptions from security forces”, Ms Bireete told a news conference held at the NGO Forum offices in Kampala on Thursday by the New Election Watch-Uganda (NEW-U) observer group.
Ms Bireete adds that if the obligation is too big for Byabakama as per the law he should resign before the 2021 polls and a capable one takes over.
This comes as the deadline looms for the presidential aspirants to return nomination forms.
With just hours to today’s deadline for submission of required signatures, only 8 of the 86 presidential aspirants have complied and Kyagulanyi is among the over 70 aspirants who had by yesterday not returned forms.
The Presidential Elections Act requires aspiring candidates to collect 100 signatures from 2 thirds of the total number of districts in the country as a precondition for their nomination.
