1 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS......................................................................................................................................... 3 FOREWORD ...........................................................................................................................................................4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 5 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 7 2. OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 7 3. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF ELECTIONS IN UGANDA ....................................................9 4. POLITICAL CONTEXT FOR THE 2021 ELECTIONS ............................................................10 5. INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK............................................................................11 6. THE PRE –ELECTION PHASE ..............................................................................................................13 7. ELECTION DAY PHASE........................................................................................................................... 27 8. POST ELECTION PHASE....................................................................................................................... 37 9. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 39 10. ANNEXES......................................................................................................................................................... 41 2 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report LIST OF ACRONYMS ANT Alliance for National Transformation AYDL African Youth Development Link BVVM Bio Matric Voter Verification Machine CBO Community Based Organisation CCEDU Citizens Coalition on Electoral Democracy in Uganda CEDAW Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEW-IT Citizens Election Watch-Information Technology CSO Civil Society Organization CRPD Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities DP Democratic Party DR Declaration of Results Forms ECA Electoral Commission Act FDC Forum for Democratic Change ICCPR International Covenant on Civil, Economic and Political Rights NUP National Unity Platform NRM National Resistance Movement PEA Presidential Elections Act PWDs People with Disabilities SOPs Standard Operating Procedures UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UN United Nations VLS Voter Location Slip YCED Youth Coalition on Electoral Democracy in Uganda 3 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report FOREWORD Election observation and monitoring is a powerful tool in promoting democracy, political rights, and good governance. From the perspective that elections ought to be organized within international, regional, and national legal frameworks and principles, citizens‘ participation in elections is a fundamental human right that offers the power to exercise their civic and political rights. Thereafter the ultimate right should be purposed to make democracy deliver a better quality of life by linking voters‘ interests to the choice of political representation and thereafter service delivery. As an actor, AYDL monitored the key pre-electoral process, during, and post-election process with the key importance of identifying critical issues that need deliberate policy and legal review/adjustment and progressive programming and advocacy engagement. From the perspective of elections, the fundamentals of an election are hinged on participation arising from people‘s desire for dignity, equality, justice, liberty, and rights to their opinion while taking on the responsibility to choose leaders that best represent them. While AYDL focused on observing youth enthusiasm to participate in the just-concluded election as candidates, election officials, agents and voters, the tide around participation has been reflected from angles of a protest vote, emerging through narratives of cultural identities and religious dimensions. During the electoral process, we observed the key pre-election process because these have an implication on the nature of elections and its outcomes. We keenly observed the nomination of candidates, the readiness of the electoral commission to manage elections, voter invalidity, Youth participation, Human rights aspects, election administration and management, fairness, and compliance with electoral laws in regards to national and international standards, elections amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and SOPs among others. The findings and assertions and recommendations entailed in this report are critical to reflect on in the post-election environment for improvement of our electoral system and democracy. 4 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY African Youth Development Link (AYDL) is a dynamic nonprofit; a nonpartisan youth-led development organization established in 2008, AYDL works to provide a link between youth and governance policy processes in Uganda so that we are each part of something larger than we are. We strive to advocate for the implementation and reform of laws and policies for increased youth participation in leadership and democratic governance processes at local and national levels for progress and change. Since 2014, AYDL has been coordinating the Youth Coalition on Electoral Democracy in Uganda (YCED) — a coalition of youth-led civil society organizations united in the desire to create synergy in various electoral democracy efforts currently being undertaken throughout Uganda. Through its flagship program, coordinated the National Youth Manifesto (NYM) agenda 2011 –2016, 2016 –2021, and 2021-2026 that highlights key policy priorities/demands by youth to the political parties, candidates in an election, and the subsequent government and emerging as a symbolic ‘youth collective voice‘ in Uganda‘s development discourse. Therefore, in the interest to harness youth potential, AYDL collaborated with the Youth Coalition for Electoral Democracy and set up a youth domestic election observation framework to observe the 2021 general elections. The observation focused on pre-election, Election Day, and Post-election; it aimed at monitoring and observing the electoral process to make recommendations for elections work for the people through citizens centered credible, inclusive, free, and fair process with acceptable outcomes. Having been duly accredited by the Electoral Commission, 150 election observers were Since 2014, AYDL has trained and deployed in the districts of Wakiso, Mukono, been coordinating Iganga, Bukedea, and Bukwo with both stationed and the Youth Coalition roving observers and coordination center at the National on Electoral level. The districts were chosen due to the High invalidity Democracy in of votes in 2016, low voter turnout, or had no observers Uganda (YCED) — a deployed in the 2016 general election. The report presents election observation findings and recommendations based on what transpired in the pre, during and post-electoral process. In the pre-election period, our findings reveal challenges and gaps including the inadequate civic education which had a bearing on vote invalidity, limited attention to inclusion of various disability categories throughout the electoral process, limited knowledge, understanding and 5 coalition of youthled civil society organizations united in the desire to create synergy in various electoral democracy efforts currently being undertaken throughout Uganda. AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report interpretation of the electoral laws among candidates and political parties, human rights violations including intimidation and torture of journalists on duty by security forces and securitization of the electoral process. We observed that the election day was generally peaceful although with some incidences like heavy deployment of security forces, late arrival of materials in some polling stations in Wakiso and Mukono districts, failure of the BVVM machine due to capacity gaps by the polling officials or technical failure in some polling stations, hardships amongst some voters to find their polling stations despite being in possession of the voter locator slips, relocation of polling stations due to urban developments, failure to conform to the COVID-19 SOPs especially hand washing or sanitizing and social distancing, inaccessibility of some polling stations by persons with disabilities, challenges in determining the valid and invalid votes by the polling officials among other challenges. In the post-election period, AYDL held stakeholders‘ meetings in the five target districts and with four political parties that is FDC, DP, NUP, ANT and four independent candidates including or their representatives including engineer Willy Mayambala, Joseph Kabuleeta and Henry Tumukunde. The key emerging findings together with the observation of the general context after the presidential and parliamentary elections include the kidnaps and torture of opposition supporters. The key recommendations include; Ensure adequate training for electoral staff on the polling procedure including the audit of materials delivered, set up of the polling station to ensure secrecy and easy access to PWDs, the use of the BVV kit and taking charge of the polling station without any interference of the candidates‘ agents, improving the roll out of needs based voter education across the country, re-evaluate the accreditation process for observers both local and international including the media to avoid delays. The development partners should also offer timely funding of election activities since an election is not an event but a process that requires adequate preparation and planning. Political parties and candidates should offer adequate training for their agents. We observed that the election day was generally peaceful although with some incidences like heavy deployment of security forces, late arrival of materials in some polling stations in Wakiso and Mukono districts, failure of the BVVM machine due to capacity gaps by the polling officials 6 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 1. INTRODUCTION This is a report of the key findings and recommendations for the African Youth Development Link‘s Youth Election Observation Mission for the 2021 Presidential and Parliamentary elections which took place on the 14th of January 2021. The report highlights the key observation findings for the pre, during and post-election period. The pre- and post-election findings are generated from the general outlook of the electoral process while the Election Day findings are based on the focus districts of Wakiso, Mukono, Iganga, Bukwo and Bukedea on the basis of reports from 150 observers deployed. Of the 150, 130 were based at polling stations, 15 roving at the sub county level and 5 based at the main coordination center. 2. OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY The overall goal of the observation mission is to promote a democratic culture where elections work for the people through citizens centered credible, inclusive, free, and fair process with acceptable outcomes. Specifically, the mission purposed; ◆ ◆ ◆ To mobilize and train accredited youth electoral observers in dynamic and human rights monitoring and reporting of the electoral processes. To deploy accredited observers to deter, detect and report electoral fraud that affects the integrity of the electoral process. To disseminate the findings and recommendations of the election observation mission for stakeholder’s uptake to influence electoral reforms and improve the democratization process. METHODOLOGY AYDL mobilized from its pull of 300 observers, trained and deployed 150 observers in the district of Wakiso, Mukono, Iganga, Bukedea, and Bukwo. The training was delivered through a workshop using tools developed by a consultant from CEW-IT and facilitated by a representative from the Electoral Commission, the Citizen Coalition for Electoral Democracy (CCEDU), and a representative from the Academia. The training was also delivered through a practical role-playing approach using the “Mock Election” model so that the observers can get first-hand analysis on key issues to look out for on Election Day. All the observers underwent a debrief on EC guidelines, what to look out for during the observation, and thereafter deployed in a specific polling station in the targeted district of districts with voter invalidity, low voter turnout and no observers in the 2016 elections. 7 AYDL mobilized from its pull of 300 observers, trained and deployed 150 observers in the district of Wakiso, Mukono, Iganga, Bukedea, and Bukwo. AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report We deployed 150 election observers, 130 were stationed at polling stations, 15 roving observers covering parishes and polling stations, and 5 at the data coordination center. A data and Coordination Center was set up to address any eventualities and receive early warning signs of violence, incident reporting, and coordinating the security of observers. The Observers were deployed to look out for issues surrounding election administration and management, fairness and application of electoral laws, compliance with National and international set standards, youth participation, election voting guidelines amidst COVID-19, participation of persons with disability, and early warning for electoral violence. The Observers were deployed to look out for issues surrounding election administration and management, fairness and application of electoral laws, compliance with National and international set standards, youth participation, election voting guidelines amidst COVID-19, participation of persons with disability, and early warning for electoral violence “We should learn to respect and tolerate views of others - wall mural at Electoral Commission” by Commonwealth Secretariat is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 8 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 3. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF ELECTIONS IN UGANDA The history of elections in Uganda is traced back to the period before independence when the then existing political parties participated in an election ahead of the transition from colonial rule. This landmark election was held in 1961 after which the country did not hold another election until 1980. Since then, the country has held regular successive elections since 1996 (after the promulgation of a new Constitution), subsequently in 2001, 2006 and 2011, and 2016. However, in spite of the regularity of elections, there have been several contestations about the freeness, fairness, and credibility of the elections with several former candidates contesting the results in courts of law. In all instances, the courts determined that elections passed the legal test irrespective of evidence of irregularities. The adoption of the 1995 constitution and the rebirth of electoral democracy in Uganda generated a new sense of optimism in Uganda’s pathway to building an enduring constitutional and democratic dispensation. In the following years, a referendum was held in March 2000 on whether Uganda should retain the Movement system, with limited operation of political parties, or adopt multi-party politics. While political commentators observed that the 2001 presidential and parliamentary elections generally reflected the will of the electorate, the observer groups noticed that they marred by serious irregularities such as restrictions on political party activities, incidents of violence, voter intimidation, and fraud1 particularly in the period leading up to the elections. In accordance with international good electoral practices, the 1995 Uganda Constitution establishes 3 standard criteria for elections. The elections must be (i) regular (ii) credible and (iii) free and fair. In accordance with international good electoral practices, the 1995 Uganda Constitution establishes 3 standard criteria for elections. The elections must be (i) regular (ii) credible and (iii) free and fair. In the more than two decades since the promulgation of the 1995 constitution, the criterion of the regularity of elections has been achieved despite the fact that it falls short of fairness and credibility. It should be noted that since the first election of the Legislative Council in 1961, no election has delivered a universally acceptable outcome, with the majority being contested in courts of law and sometimes street protests. The credibility and fairness of the vote have become increasingly contested as the desired political and electoral reforms stalled. Violence and widespread use of money has become the main hallmarks of Uganda’s elections. A combination of (i) erosion of public trust in the electoral and political process; and (ii) loss of credibility of elections governing bodies especially the Electoral Commission and the Uganda Police Force (UPF) are leading to high levels of voter apathy, general disengagement and withdrawal from the political and electoral process, especially among youth. This situation is exacerbated by limited and inadequate capacity and pro-activeness of the citizenry and civic organizations to sustainably shape public discourse on democracy and governance. 1 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices ..., Volume 2004, Issue 1, Part 1 9 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 4. POLITICAL CONTEXT FOR THE 2021 ELECTIONS The 2021 general election unlike other electoral processes has been a new experience to all with the presence of a pandemic that necessitated a lockdown and later curfew that affected the electoral process. The Electoral Commission launched a roadmap in 2018 that guided the entire preparatory process. It showed their level of preparation for the process though they got a setback when the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic. Uganda in particular went into a total lockdown in March 2020 and this greatly affected the electoral roadmap. The lockdown was gradually lifted starting in June 2020 and by this time; there were debates to postpone the elections something which would come with both legal and institutional complications. On this basis, the commission revised launched another electoral roadmap and declared elections ―Scientific’. This required incorporation of measures and guidelines put in place by the Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of the Pandemic. Government preventive guidelines not only pressed majority citizens on the edge but also disrupted the nature and substance of the electoral processes. For example, the roadmap gave little time to key electoral activities like campaign which are critical in informing the citizen‘s right to vote for the candidate of their choice. While the proposed ―Scientific campaign was intentional to enforce social distancing guidelines to curb the spread of Covid-19, these limited political parties and aspiring candidates‘ reach to the masses due to the limitation of both physical gatherings something which had far-reaching implications on citizens‘ participation in electoral processes. The scientific nature of the campaigns also meant that candidates had to opt for media spaces. Given the restrictions and denial of media space to mostly opposition candidates, the option was social media. This gave rise to the spread of misinformation and hate speech as every citizen with a smart phone became a journalist. Despite the scientific nature, the election came with a lot of excitement with new faces and a huge number of youth registering as first time voters and actively participating in both online and physical campaign events. The coming on board of Hon Kyagulanyi a musician-cum-politician in the race that attracted 11 candidates including the youngest ever at 24 years was received with excitement and inspiration for the youth many of whom were first voters. The Electoral Commission also got a setback when some of its top-ranking staff resigned during the electoral process and Government there were fears that it would drastically affect its ability to continue with preventive the preparatory process but the commission was able to manage their guidelines not departure without any substantial effect on the process. The commission has also had a perennial challenge of 11 funding wherein the full extent of their budget requests is not usually met and even when money is approved, sometimes it comes in a little late. These delays coupled with the outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns disrupted the commission road map and voter education rollout. 10 only pressed majority citizens on the edge but also disrupted the nature and substance of the electoral processes. AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 5. INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK 5.1 Legal Framework The 2021 presidential and parliamentary elections were conducted under five legal documents that guided the entire process including; The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 [As amended], The Electoral Commission Act, Cap 140 [ECA] [As amended], The Presidential Elections Act, 2005 [PEA] [As amended], The Political Parties and Organizations Act, 2005 [PPOA] [As amended] and The Public Health (Control of COVID-19) Rules, 2020 (SI 83/2020). It was also conducted in line with international legal framework for democratic elections that began in 1948 with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the years that followed, other international and region-specific legal instruments too were adopted. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes key democratic principles and the central role of ‘genuine‘ elections in conferring legitimacy on the authority of government. Article 21 states (i) everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. ii) Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country. (iii)The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will be expressed in periodic and genuine elections, which shall be held by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot or by the equivalent free voting procedures. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted in 1966, Article 25 states that every citizen shall have the right and opportunity without any unreasonable restrictions; (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections this shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors. The Article further recognizes and protects the right of every citizen to take part in the conduct of public affairs. Other relevant legal instruments adopted within the UN system include The Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952); The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979); and The General Assembly Resolution on Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Principle of Periodic and Genuine Elections (17 December 1991.) 11 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report The Convention for Rights to Persons with Disability (CRPD, 2006), exists as a collaborative approach to disability inclusion and underscores the equal right of persons with disabilities to participate in political life. At a regional level, Article 13(1) on the African charter on Human and people rights provides that every citizen shall have a right to participate freely in government. The Africa Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Africa Covenant on Democracy, Elections, and Governance reiterate the democratic principles spelt out in the UDHR, ICCPR, and CEDAW. The inter-parliamentary council declaration on the criteria for free and fair elections clearly state in Article 1 that in any state, the authority of the government can only be derived from the will of the people as expressed in genuine, free and fair elections held at regular intervals on the basis of universal, equal and secret suffrage. 5.2 Election Management and Administration The Electoral commission was established as an independent body with a mandate to organize and manage elections with an independent vote and does so in conformity with regional and international election standards. The commission is a statutory body responsible for the management of all elections in Uganda. The EC is established by article 60 (1) (a) of the Constitution and operates within the framework of the Constitution of Uganda and the Electoral Commission Act 1997 as amended in 2005 and 2010. The electoral commissioners are appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament. The Commissioners can be appointed for a term of seven years, which is renewable once. Article 61 of the constitution charges the commission with the following functions; (a) To ensure that regular, free and fair elections are held; (b) To organize, conduct and supervise elections and referenda in accordance with this Constitution; (c) To demarcate constituencies in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution; (d) To ascertain, publish and declare in writing under its seal the results of the elections and referenda; (e) To compile, maintain, revise and update the voters register; (f) To hear and determine election complaints arising before and during polling; (g) To formulate and implement civic educational programmes relating to elections; and (h) To perform such other functions as may be prescribed by Parliament by law2 Powers of the Commission is provided for in Article 53; (1) In the performance of its functions, the Commission shall have the powers of a court (a) To issue summons or other orders requiring the attendance of any person before the Commission and the production of any document or record relevant to any investigation by the Commission; (b) To question any person in respect of any subject matter under investigation before the commission; (c) To require any person to disclose any information within his or her knowledge relevant to any investigation by the Commission. (d) To commit persons for contempt of its orders 2 https://www.ec.or.ug/docs/Constitution_1995.pdf 12 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report (2) The Commission may, if satisfied that there has been an infringement of a human right or freedom order(a) (b) (c) (d) The release of a detained or restricted person; Payment of compensation; or Any other legal remedy or redress. Article 54 provides for the Independence of the Commission Subject to this Constitution, the Commission shall be independent and shall not, in the performance of its duties, be subject to the direction or control of any person or control authority3 The Electoral Commission Act of 1997, as amended in 2005 and 2010 The Electoral Commission Act, Cap 140 stipulates among others; (e) To take measures for ensuring that the entire electoral process is conducted under conditions of freedom and fairness, (f) To take steps to ensure that there are secure conditions necessary for the conduct of any election in accordance with this Act or any other law; (g) To promote and regulate through appropriate means civic education of the citizens of Uganda on the purpose and voting procedures of any election, including, where (h) (i) (j) (k) practicable, the use of sign language; To ensure that the candidates campaign in an orderly and organized manner; To accredit any nonpartisan individual, group of individuals or an institution or association to carry out voter education subject to guidelines determined by the commission and published in the Gazette; to ensure compliance by all election officers and candidates with the provisions of this Act or any other law; to take necessary steps to ensure that people with disabilities are enabled to vote without any hindrance among others; 6. THE PRE –ELECTION PHASE 6.1 Reorganizing of Polling station The EC is mandated under Cap 140 section 12 (1) (d) of the Electoral Commission Act, to establish and operate polling station. In this, the EC conducts re-organization of polling stations country wide to enable voters to conventionally cast their votes. The reorganization of polling stations serves to: (i) Allocate each parish/ward or electoral area at least one polling station; (ii) Merge Polling Stations that have far less than the optimum number of voters as determined by the Electoral Commission; (iii) Split polling stations with significantly more than the optimum number of voters into two or more polling stations; (iv) Rationalize polling stations that had earlier been split based on the alphabet; (v) Re-locate polling stations on the basis of voter accessibility and management;(vi) Re-name polling stations according to their physical locations; and (vii) Harmonize parish and village names with the corresponding polling stations.4 3 Article 53 Uganda Constitutions 4 https://www.ec.or.ug/sites/default/files/press/Voter%20Education%20Hand%20book%202020.pdf 13 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report Observation; While the reorganization involves creation/allocation, merging splitting, rationalizing, relocation, renaming and harmonizing of parishes, villages and polling stations, we observed that re-organization of polling stations exercise took place in 2019. In Circumstances where developments e.g. buildings, roads, Industries, factories took place since then, these places were no longer public and gazette polling stations in such areas seized to exist. In instances that Polling Stations are shifted to any other appropriate and convenient location within the Parish5, we observed that voters faced challenges in locating such polling stations as they relocated or emerged near roads and highways. We recommend; EC should notify voters prior to elections the polling stations that changed as a result of urban development to avoid frustrating voters on Election Day. The electoral commission should also dispatch play cards for polling station identification on polling day in visible areas. 6.2 Registration of voters The Electoral commission (EC) under Article 61 (1) is mandated to compile, maintain, revise and update the voter register. The Electoral Commission Act, Cap 140 section 18 states that (1) the commission shall compile, maintain and update, on a continuing basis, a national voters register, in this Act referred to as the voters register, which shall include the names of all persons entitled to vote in any national or local government election. Section 19 (1) Any person who (a) is a citizen of Uganda; and (b) is eighteen years of age or above, shall apply to be registered as a voter in a parish or ward where the person- (i) originates from; or (ii) resides. (2) No person shall be qualified to vote at an election if that person is not registered as a voter in accordance with article 59 of the Constitution. Article 59 (1) states that every citizen of Uganda of eighteen years of age or above, has a right to vote. (2) It is the duty of every citizen of Uganda of eighteen years of age or above, to register as a voter for public elections and referenda. (3) The State shall take all necessary steps to ensure that all citizens qualified to vote, register and exercise their right to vote. (4) Parliament shall make laws to provide for the facilitation of citizens with disabilities to register and vote6. Observation; Whereas the Electoral Commission Act; Cap 140 subsection (7) states that; when updating the voters register, the commission shall update it to a date appointed by statutory instrument in accordance with subsection (8) as the date on which the updating shall end, we observed that an estimated 1 million voters who had 5 https://www.ec.or.ug/sites/default/files/press/Guidelines%20for%20Countrywide%20Reorganisation%20of%20Polling%20Stations%202019.pdf 6 https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/44038/90491/F206329993/UGA44038.pdf 14 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report turned 18 by December 23, 2019 were not added on the national voters register because the voter registration process had ended. The disenfranchised young people were denied the opportunity to exercising their ultimate civic right whereas one should be 18 years by close of the update.7 While the Electoral Commission may carry out this function by utilizing data from the applicant or the registration of citizens maintained by the National Identification and Registration Authority8, the projection that about 1 million voters that would turn 18 after the update of national register was underestimated. Recommendation: Mobile Registration centers: The Electoral commission and National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA) should continue to undertake registration processes through mobile registration centers especially targeting young people in schools, persons with disability and those citizens under mobility challenges in terms of distance. 6.3 Update and Display of the National Voter Register 6.3.1 Update of National Voter Register (Sec 18(1) of the EC Act 1997 mandates the Electoral Commission to compile, maintain, and update on a continuous basis the National voter‘s register. This is intended to (i) Allow eligible people that have never registered before to register, (ii) Correction on voter particulars and (iii) Transfer of voter location within the requirement of a voter as stipulated as (i) Citizens of Uganda and (ii) 18 years of age and above. Observation: The update of the National Voter register happened when many young people were still in school and this makes it valid that I million voters especially those that turned 18 before the cutoff date of December 23 2020 were left out from the National voter register. Recommendation: Revise the law to allow for the setup of an online system for eligible voters to update their voting particulars using easy supportive at any time prior to the finalization of the register. The register should cater for the categorization of the different forms of disabilities to cater for planning for their special needs on the polling day. 6.3.2 Display of the National voter register Section 24 of the Electoral Commission Act caters for inspection of constituency voters rolls, printing of the rolls `and use of the printed rolls. (1) The voters roll for every constituency shall be open to inspection by the public, free of charge, at 7 https://www.ec.or.ug/node/14 8(NIRA).” https://www.ec.or.ug/sites/default/files/press/Guidelines%20for%20Verification%20of%20Voters%20at%20Village%20Level%20and%20Identification%20of%20Persons%20with%20Disability%20 in%20the%20National%20Voters%27%20Register%20October%202019.pdf 15 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report the office of the returning officer during office hours and shall be made available at the sub county headquarters and at each polling station within the constituency. Section 25 (1) provides that the EC shall appoint a period not less than twenty-one days for display of voter roll at parish and ward and thereafter allow 10 days as a period of natural justice through parish tribunal. The voters roll for each parish or ward shall be displayed for public scrutiny and during which any objections or complaints in relation to the names included in the voters roll or in relation to any necessary corrections can be made. Observation; Whereas the display exercise is intended to, avail voters undertake public scrutiny and cleaning for omission and inclusion before production of the final register, Eligible voters have no adequate information on particular clean forms that they must be able to fill in circumstances that they need to raise objection, correction of particulars and in case of natural justice through parish tribunal. The National Voter registers does not clearly highlight different disability categories of persons with disability to enable and support effective planning for their participation. Recommendation: There is need to enhance sensitization of the people need to know what they ought to do when there is an objection, omission, and inclusion. In particular Clean Form 6 for raising an objection against an omission, CLN form 9 for raising objection against the inclusion of unqualified voter, CLN form 10 for raising objection against correction of particulars, CLN form 7 for raising counter objection against 6,9 &10 (natural justice) and CLN form 3 on mismatched particulars of voters. 6.4 Nomination of Candidates In accordance with Section 8 of the Presidential Elections Act, the Electoral Commission appointed November 2 and 3 2020 as the nomination days for the Presidential candidates. Eleven (11) candidates were nominated as preseidential candidates for the 2021 presidential elections. These include; Kalembe Nacy Linda as the only female candidate, Katumba John at 24 years of age9 and the youngest of them all, and the incumbent President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni of the National Resistance Movement), the oldest at 76 years. The other candidates include Amuriat Patrick Oboi of (Forum for Democratic Change), Nobert Mao (Democratic Party), Kabuleta Kiiza Joseph (Independent), Kyagulanyi Sentamu Robert (National Unity Platform), Mwesigye Fred (Independent), Mugisha Muntu Gregg (Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Tumukunde Henry Kakurugu (Independent) and Willy Mayambala (Independent). It‘s important to note that the nomination of presidential aspirants was undertaken with adequate preparation in spite of some few incidences. For example, supporters of Presidential Candidate Tumukunde Henry that had congregated along the sidelines of the 9 https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/presidential-aspirant-john-katumba-bounced-at-nomination-centre-2728858?s=09 16 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report “The thumb is marked with an indelible marker - wall mural at Electoral Commission” by Commonwealth Secretariat is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 road were dispersed by the Police with accusation that Presidential candidate Tumukunde had mobilized his supporters to travel to the nomination center something which was contrary to the nomination Guidelines issued by the Electoral Commission10. In observance that on the first day of nominations, November 2, 2020, two candidates, Kalembe Nancy Linda and Katumba John did not fulfill all the conditions for the nomination. However, after rectification of fulfilling the condition and paying the nomination fees, the Electoral Commission duly nominated them on day two. On November 3, 2020 the second day of the nomination, Presidential candidate Amuriat Patrick Oboi of the Forum for Democratic Change was picked up by security and later bundled into a waiting vehicle that dropped him at the nomination venue barefooted with no nomination papers an act that degraded his caliber as the presidential aspirant. The police in a statement released on November 3 2020 stated that the FDC presidential aspirant then had refused to follow the route given to him to the nomination center11. On the same day, November 3, 2020, Presidential candidate Kyagulanyi Sentamu Robert following his nomination that was peaceful, was arrested outside the nomination center under preventive circumstances, driven off to his home in Magere. Amidst this scuffle, his entourage including his personal security guard and party spokesperson were injured. The arrest emerged because of the disagreement on the destination where the candidates intended to move thereafter launch the NUP manifesto. Observation While we applaud the EC for executing the nomination process in consistence with law and practice and in some instances exhibiting patience with candidates like Nancy Kalembe Linda and Katumba John, we observed that they did not intervene immediately to condemn the high handedness and unprofessional conduct of the security forces in the manner that they carried out the arrest of presidential aspirant. This act discredited the Electoral commission in managing the 2021 general election amidst COVID-19 pandemic. Recommend; There is need to give clear guidelines and roadmaps to political parties and candidates prior to nomination and not after. 10 Ibid 3 11 https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/1531197/arrested-amuriat-kyagulanyi-police 17 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report In the pre process to the election, the Electoral commission should be in position to communicate key decisions to the general public and key state actors to allow credibility of the key electoral process. In observance that there were agreements and Memorandum of Understanding that the Electoral commission agreed with the aspirant and political parties, it is critical that we make this legally binding with both parties agreeing onto them in the future process. While the constituents of free and fair election entails that the Electoral commission must initiate a complaint and dispute resolution mechanism, we recommend that this should be timely, prompt and effective for addressing occurrences. 6.5 Election Campaigns The Presidential Elections Act, 2005 as amended specifies on time and manner of campaign; Section 2l of the principal Act subsection (1), a candidate or his or her agent shall hold a campaign rally between seven o’clock in the morning and six o’clock in the afternoon. (1b) A person who contravenes subsection (la) commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding forty-eight currency points or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both12. The presidential campaign was held between 9 November 2020 and 12 January 2021 with strict guidelines on enforcing the covid-19 pandemic SOPs. In the pre-process, the discussion was to have ”Scientific election” branded as virtual but with a hybrid campaign of about 200 people. This meant that most of the campaigns would be done using radios, television and digital spaces. To cater for this, section 24 (i) provide that the Commission shall ensure that all presidential candidates are given equal treatment on State owned media to present their programs to the people. (1a) A State-owned media house shall, within fourteen days after nomination day, notify in writing, all presidential candidates of the availability of time, the broadcasting schedule and cost of presenting their programs and shall allocate time to the candidates; Observation: Despite the provisions of the law, the presidential candidates did not have adequate campaign schedules and in some instance none on the state-owned media offered opposition candidates space. We also had complaints of denial of access to media houses even after the candidates have paid and, in some instance, switching of signals in particular districts. While the Presidential Election Act sec 21 highlights that a candidates may hold meetings in any part of the Uganda in accordance with any existing law and subject to harmonized campaign programme, we observed that during the campaign period presidential candidates Patrick Amuriat Oboi of FDC, Kyagulanyi Robert of NUP, John Katumba independent and Norbert Mao of Democratic Party were barred from accessing campaign venues even when the campaign schedules were agreed on in the designated district in accordance with the harmonized campaign programme. 12 file:///C:/Users/USER/Downloads/The%20Presidential%20Elections%20(amendment)%20Act%202020.pdf 18 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report It’s critical to observe that the enforcement of Covi-19 preventive measures by security forces under the Scientific Campaigns spurred violent campaign scenes with arrest, unlawful detention and incidences of death of some opposition supporters. Whereas the political aspirants were to organize political campaigns within set laws and regulation subject to the COVID-19 guidelines, we noted that campaign venues gazetted in open grounds made it difficult to control crowds. While protection and immunity of candidates is highlighted in the Presidential election Act, sec. 22, (a) every public officer, public authority and institutions to give equal treatment to all candidates and the EC mandated to ensuring that the organ of the state provide protection to each candidate during campaign meetings and at the place of residence, we observed that there were security threats to presidential candidates. For example, the head of the security detail of presidential aspirant Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu, a one Asp Wilfred Kato Kubai who was injured on 1st December in Jinja by an un-identified object. Patrick Amuriat Oboi, a presidential candidate for FDC, was arrested many times during the campaign trail. The commission set the days for campaigns after harmonizing the timetables of the 11 presidential candidates. Unlike in the previous presidential campaigns where a day was given to cover each district, this time around the commission allocated only 60 days as the campaign period for access to 149 districts. It is also important to note that campaigns were to be held in a non-traditional manner with no public rallies and gathering thereby further complicating the candidate‘s ability to reach more voters in the shortest time possible. Recommendation: 6.6 Civic and Voter Education Article 61 of the Constitution mandates the EC to formulate and implement civic and voter education activities. The EC is mandated under CAP 140 ―to carrying ―promote and regulate through appropriate means civic education of the citizens of Uganda on the purpose and voting procedures of any election and including, where practicable the use of sign language. Under the Constitution, Article 35 Rights of persons with disabilities (1) provides that Persons with disabilities have a right to respect and human dignity and the State and society shall take appropriate measures to ensure that they realize their full mental and physical potential. (2) Parliament shall enact laws appropriate for the protection of persons with disabilities.13 Observation: Civic and Voter education remains one of the missing links, the link between civic and voter education remains elusive. The Inadequacy in voter education was witnessed on Election Day, as many voters were not aware of the process of voting. Observers on the ground severally witnessed voter‘s inability to fill the ballots, concluding that this was a clear indicator that voters did not have clear guidelines on how to fill the ballot paper, steps to voting and how to fold the ballot paper. The EC is under (CAP 140), is mandated to promote and regulate through appropriate means civic education of the citizens of Uganda on the purpose and voting procedures 13 Article 35 of the Ugandan Constitution 19 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report of any election, including, where practicable, the use of sign language. (k) To take necessary steps to ensure that people with disabilities are enabled to vote without any hindrance and ensure compliance by all election officers and candidates with the provisions of this act or any other law. Among the voter education initiatives, lesser efforts were put on inclusive messaging for person with disabilities, from registration, voting days, and the COVID19. The observation is that the voter education initiatives were not segmented to different disabilities example; little people, visually impaired, albinism. “Power belongs to the people - wall mural at Electoral Commission” by Commonwealth Secretariat is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 We observed that civic education initiatives have not focused on some basic voter information as linkage to lessen the gap of information amongst the population. For example, young people face barriers to voter registration rules and deadlines, information on how to vote, why, where and when to vote. However, the challenges to disability inclusion, participation have increasingly become complex, for example, inaccessibility to registration and polling stations, as well as limited awareness on voting procedures. Whereas the EC is mandated to co-opt civil society organizations to supplement voter education, during the 2021 elections pre-electoral process, the EC accredited 46 Civil Society organizations14. The accreditation did not support voter education of key processes. Even then, the 2021 election was ―”scientific” the cost of voter education using multimedia channels and social media was challenged due to heavy cost and reach despite the existence of 292 operational radio and 33 Television stations. While the EC acknowledged that the voter education was inadequate with challenges cited on restrictions in movement and on gatherings of about 200 people that came with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic15. We observed that the messaging and voter education was not targeted to different categories of the population especially first-time voters and PWD‘s. Recommendation This is a recurrent challenge of voter invalidity needs to be dealt with by both the commission and the civil society to establish the extent to which voter education is done, when it is done, the content of the education and how far in the community, these trainings reach. This will cater for devising strategies for effective civic and voter education which is tailor made to the needs of all the categories of citizens including people with disabilities. 14 15 https://www.independent.co.ug/46-csos-accredited-to-conduct-2021-voter-education-in-uganda/ https://www.independent.co.ug/electoral-commission-acknolwedges-voter-education-shortfalls/ 20 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 6.6.1 Electoral laws and Guidelines: it is very unfortunate that candidates come to an election when they hardly know the electoral laws or guidelines. It is agreeable that the absence of information on electoral laws continues to exist amongst candidates more so young people which affect compliance to set guidelines and laws. Amidst the new established electoral guidelines under the ―”Scientific election”, many lacked adequate information from the legal aspect. Observation The inadequacy of timely pre-election guidelines and information to both fresh and old candidates is a hindrance to meaningful participation. Recommendations: It is important that the voter information session be redirected to enable meaningful participation of stakeholders and political parties in the election. 6.6.2 Voter Locator slips The Electoral Commission gazetted a period of 10 days from Sunday 3rd-12th January 2021 where eligible registered voters would pick voter locator slips at each Parish/Ward across the country16. The Voter locator slip bears the particulars of a voter, namely: photograph, names, date of birth, and location (that is, the district, constituency, Sub County, parish and polling station) as well as unique barcode to be read by the Biometric Voter Verification machines. Observation; whereas the issuance of Voter locator slips (VLS) is a response to complaints raised in the past elections where voters reported difficulty in locating their polling stations, the absence of proper marking at polling stations continues to make them ineffective. For example, voters faced difficulty in allocating polling stations despite their possession of voter locator slips. A case in point was a polling station split into many other polling stations; Upper Kauga parish CAO building M-NAK, Kauga parish CAO building A-J, Nsuube Kauga parish CAO building K-L Upper Kauga parish CAO building 0-Z. While the voter locator slips were to be picked by the voters in person from the Parish/ Ward headquarters, the voter locator slips process became a hindrance and were picked by persons other than the owners and some never picked due to various challenges that the commission should investigate. The exercise was used by aspiring candidates to pick and distribute them to people as a means of convincing them to vote for them. The inadequacy in the dissemination information on voter locator slips could have had an impact on voter turnout as many voters probably thought that it was a basis for one to cast a vote other than existence in particular on the voter register17. Recommend While we observed that the issuance of voter locator slips was not managed well, we encourage the EC to popularize the Voter locator‘s slips exercise18 as a way to support those 16 17 18 https://www.ec.or.ug/news/ec-starts-issuing-voter-location-slips https://www.ec.or.ug/news/ec-starts-issuing-voter-location-slips https://www.ec.or.ug/search/byid/ 21 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report that may not have time and are able to use the online platform. The Electoral commissions should ensure that part of the material dispatched per polling station is a placard placed at visible entrances for easily identification. 6.7 Media Environment Media freedom is a fundamental human right stipulated under 1995 constitution. Article 19 of UDHR states that; ―Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Article 29 (1) (a) states among others, the right to freedom of speech and expression which shall include freedom of press and other media. The Computer Misuse Act, 2011 as amended, makes provision for the safety and security of electronic transactions and information systems; to prevent unlawful access, abuse or misuse of information systems including computers and to make provision for securing the conduct of electronic transactions in a trustworthy electronic environment and to provide for other related matters. Furthermore, the Electronic Media Act cap 104, Press and Journalist Act 2000, Communication Act 2013 (as amended), 2019 communication regulation guides the media environment. UCC is mandated under the communication act CAP 106 to regulate communication services, promote interest of consumer and operators in regards to services among other While the media plays a crucial role in information management in the electoral process guided by the principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism. We observed that; Observation The nature of the 2021 elections occasioned by the COVID-19 situation meant that the media became the most sought after in the process. Unfortunately, many media houses took advantage and hiked media space prices to a level that many candidates were unable to afford. In some instances, radio station that was available was also owned by politicians that meant their opponents had total media blackouts. With over 300 licensed and 292 operational radio stations and 33 televisions licensed by the Uganda communication commission, the number of candidates and the increase in number of elective positions and constituents meant that media houses also did not have the capacity to create enough media spaces for campaign and even when the cost was lowered for media airtime. Where media time was availed, there was poor articulation of manifesto and issues except hate speech and blame game. 22 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report Within the virtual campaign, it‘s estimated that only three-quarters of the population own mobile phone, and only 16% of these mobiles are smart phones, despite the increase of internet penetration rate to 48.2 internet users per 100 inhabitants. The virtual campaigns registered an increase in online tools like USSD code messaging, social media messaging, Facebook and WhatsApp infomercial campaigns although weakened by accessibility, affordability, availability, and reliability of the internet services. The growth of online platform enhanced disinformation, fake news, affected information integrity and credibility of the electoral process. For example, a The National Information Technology Survey 2017/18, The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) Sample of 2,400 individuals Report available online: Facebook post claiming that the Uganda Electoral Commission (EC) planned to use pens whose ink disappears within an hour procured from Chin19. The media environment in the electoral period persisted with challenges and issues that include unbalanced coverage of presidential aspirants, denial of access and switch off by some media houses in various districts, inadequate opportunity to young candidates due to cost, and self-censorship by the media among others. During the campaign period, we observed the disregard of human right and fundamental freedoms of journalist on the front line of election coverage. Many journalists were injured during the violence scenes. The issues around self-censorship of the media was evidenced when media houses, foreign and local journalist were tasked to apply and pay 55USD and UShs.200, 000/= respectively for accreditation by the Uganda Media Council. Despite the fact that it was later overturned by the court through a petition, the act infringed on media freedom20. Recommendation: Ensure the right to access to information, this access exposes citizen to the necessary information to make informed choices while voting. 6.8 Election and Security Elections are fundamental to democracy and in fact it is possible to have elections without democracy but impossible to have a democracy without elections. The manner in which security institutions participate therefore in many ways also determines the credibility of an electoral process since they participate across the electoral cycle. The role of security organs is critical to maintain law and order in society. This is still critical in an election season. Key to this is also the protection and immunity of candidates highlighted in the Presidential election Act, sec. 22, (a) every public officer, public authority and institutions to give equal treatment to all candidates and the EC mandated to ensuring that the organ of the state provide protection to each candidate during campaign meetings and at the place of residence. Even where the EC is mandated to work hand in hand with the police, according to complaints lodged at the commission, political players cite high handedness of the security during their enforcement. The complaints too were not addressed in a timely manner. 19 https://pesacheck.org/false-a-claim-that-the-uganda-electoral-commission-will-use-pens-with-ink-that-disappears-is-fake-741e3ce8fb4d 20 https://www.hrnjuganda.org/journalists-covering-presidential-candidate-kyagulanyi-brutally-attacked-by-security-forces/ 23 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report Observation We observed that there was a command conflict in which security personnel deployed to protect presidential candidates were sometimes unable to stop the mishandling of their principle due to rank difference with officers commanding certain operations on the SOPS in the various districts that they went to hold campaigns. We observed that the head of the security detail of presidential aspirant Robert Kyagulanyi SSetamu, Kato was injured on by an un-identified object and was rushed the hospital, Patrick Amuriat Oboi the presidential candidate for FDC was arrested several times and while on a campaign trail in Kyotera, he was pushed by a security officer. A case in Kyegegwa when a police car swayed off the road injuring a police officer in pursuit of candidate‘s campaign team. John Katumba faced incidents as a youngster presidential candidate. While we observe that the law exists to enable protection and immunity of candidates, we however observed the dehumanizing incidence of presidential aspirants during the campaign trail and in some instances, life threatening even when they had their security detail provided by the electoral commission were uncalled for. Recommendation The terms of reference of the Presidential candidate security detail should in future be clear to the extent that the security team knows under what circumstances they cannot let the arrest or mishandling of their principle. The security teams sometimes looked powerless as their principle was being mishandled or arrested. Rather than blocking a candidate from accessing a district in which they are meant to be according to the campaign timetable approves and harmonized by the Electoral commission, EC should be informed on why a candidate will not be allowed access and as the managers of the electoral process be allowed to engage with the candidates on any issues arising. 6.9 Youth participation/first time voter registration First, democracy is strong when citizens participate and for too long, young people haven’t been full participants. Many youths feel disconnected from the political system, disillusioned, and disempowered to meaningfully participate and the result is disengagement. Amidst this was an already youth disenfranchised population of about I million voters21. According to the EC, 18,103,603 million registered for the 2021 general elections and22 among the registered voters; 2.5 million new voters were eligible23. In 2016, the registered voters totaled to 15,277,198 and those that cast their ballot are 10,329,131 with a voter turnout percentage rate of 67.6%. Amongst the total votes cast, 9, 851,812 represented percentage rate of 95.4% and invalid totaling to 477,719 representing 4.6%24. Of the Total registered voters male totaled to 7,249,395 with percentage of 47.5% and Female representing 8,027,803 with a percentage rate of 52.5% (uganda. 21 https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/one-million-voters-to-miss-out-on-polls-1877342 22 24https://www.ec.or.ug/voter-statistics 23 https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/ec-registers-2-5-million-new-voters-for-2021polls-1876184 24 https://uganda.electionsdataportal.org/result/Presidential/2016/National/ 24 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report electionsdataportal.org) The 2021 general elections placed youth between 18-35 years as the largest demographic electoral block, youth as voters, agents, and youth as polling official, campaign managers and as candidates.,The outlook was to monitor Youth civic-political participation, limitation in regards to high campaign fees and commercialized politics and Youth as victims/ perpetuators of election violence. Observation Youth faced barriers like not knowing registration rules and deadlines, voter awareness and information reach. These challenges bring along considerable barrier to youth meaningful participation in the electoral process as candidates, voters among others The voter registration process is overwhelmingly becoming an impediment to youth participation; many of the key electoral dates have taken place when some youth are in school. Unlike other presidential elections, the 2021 election had several youthful candidates, which probably explains the enthusiasm the youth had in being part of the process, but it also saw an unprecedented number of youth offering themselves as leaders at different elective position. Recommendation: There is need to adopt youth friendly approaches for creating awareness to understanding the electoral cycle. Electoral commission should target higher institutions of learning to display information. The electoral commission should liaise with NIRA to ensure that youth who will turn 18 by the voting time to access their national identification cards on time to cater for their registration with the electoral commission. 25 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 6.9.1 Disability Inclusion and Participation The Electoral Commission is mandated under (CAP 140), to carry out its functions among others; (e) Take measures to ensure that the entire electoral process is conducted under conditions of freedom and fairness, (g) To promote and regulate through appropriate means civic education of the citizens of Uganda on the purpose and voting procedures of any election, including, where practicable, the use of sign language, (k) To take necessary steps to ensure that people with disabilities are enabled to vote without any hindrance and also ensure compliance by all election officers and candidates with the provisions of this act or any other law. Observation In Uganda‘s electoral process, there has been little attention to deliver inclusion for person with disability with increased barriers that considerably affect equal participation. For example, key highlights of the election calendar such as civic and voter education and voter registration continue to exclude persons with disabilities thus affecting enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms. According to UBOS (2014), the population of visually impaired stands at 2,129,279 million people, the absence of braille voter information tools and ballots papers affect the legitimacy of the election and its outcomes. The practice of election inclusion for as regards to PWDs has been challenged as evidenced by inaccessibility of voting areas, voter registration process, and accessibility of voter information materials. From the human rights approach, this state of events limits their meaningfully participation in the electoral process and more so enjoyment of other basic rights. Despite, the existence of a legal framework; the electoral law practice directly discriminates against persons with disabilities in that it does not specify disability-related barriers and therefore making no provisions to ensure non-discrimination based on disability Recommendation: EC should revise the electoral process with a possibility of addressing the hindrances to participation and inclusion of persons with disability. Additionally, the electoral officers should be capacitated in basic disability identified and communication skills. We recommend taking lesson from different countries share on best practices on disability inclusion. This will contribute to reforming electoral laws and process for inclusion for persons with disability in future electoral process to address barriers to disability impediments in the pre-during, during and post-election cycles. We encourage government and EC to undertake a mechanism to address the gap in the electoral register. The register does not capture disability categories and thus limits effective planning and participation of youth whose categories of disabilities have been left out. 26 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 6.10 Political Parties 6.10.1 Political party and candidate registration Political Parties had difficulty in holding delegates conference and party primaries to select flag bearers due the over 4 month lockdown occasioned by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parties therefore had to resort to innovative methods to select candidates that among others included the traditional primaries where party members chose a flag bearer, some decided to have negotiations between candidates aspiring for the same seat while others had interview like panels to determine the best candidates based on academic qualification, popularity on the ground and party membership. Due to the short time span, some parties have had protracted internal conflicts due to the candidate selection process and these are issues they are still grappling with. 6.10.2 Party and campaign finance Section of ―14 A. of Political party Organization Act as amended states that government shall contribute funds or other public resources towards the activities of political parties or organizations represented in Parliament in accordance with the following principles; (a) Registered political parties or organizations shall be funded by Government under this Act in respect of elections and their normal day-to-day activities; (b) In respect of elections, Government shall finance political organizations and parties on equal basis; (c) In respect of normal day-to-day activities, funding shall be based on the numerical strength of each political party or organization in Parliament; and (d) The funds provided to political parties and organizations under this Act, shall be subject to audit by the Auditor General. Financing remains one of the biggest challenges that parties face especially during election time. Political parties that have representation in parliament are entitled to some government funding but it is based on their numerical strength and even when the law allows and has limits on how a party can fundraise from abroad, it‘s difficult for parties to find generous donors to finance most of their activities and needs. Some parties had their flag bearers failed to register because they lacked the nominations fee which is one of the requirements for aspiring candidates. Recommendations: There is need for political parties to be more organized in planning for elections by anticipating cost implications and start preparing early enough. Enhance mechanisms for party financing to ensure that they can effectively administer their internal process to be ready for elections. 7. ELECTION DAY PHASE The AYDL and YCED observation group generally observed that the Election Day was peaceful in the areas they observed and well conducted as voters were given an opportunity to exercise their right to choose their leaders at will. Polling areas observed largely started by 9am with essential voting materials and polling stations set up on time. The observers noted that a good number of women were part of the electoral officials at most of the polling station visited. 27 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 7.1 Arrival of Polling Officials at Polling Stations. In the 5 districts, observers aimed at observing the arrival of polling official at the designated time of 6:30 pm. This was intended to verify the preparedness of the EC officials, ease verification of voting materials, and cater for voting time and opening of the polling station. Key findings in this aspect indicate that in Bukedea district 10 polling stations had polling officials by 6:30 am while 6 polling stations had no election officials by that time. On the other hand, 9 of our election observers had not arrived at the polling station by 6:30am due to restriction on curfew. In Bukwo, 10 polling stations had polling officials by 6:30am, 10 polling stations did not have polling officials by that time and in 5 polling stations, our observers had not arrived by that time. In Iganga district, 6 polling stations had electoral officials by 6:30am, 11 polling stations, did not have election officials and our observers did not make it on time at 8 polling station. In Mukono district, 21 polling stations had electoral official by 6:30am, 9 polling stations did not have electoral by that time and 2 electoral observers had not arrived at the polling station. In Wakiso district, 19 polling stations had election officials by 6:30am, 9 polling stations did not have electoral officials by that time while 3 observers had not arrived at the designated polling station. 7.2 Setup of Polling Stations and Opening Critical to the roles of the presiding officer, he/she is meant to perform the following duties; (i) prepare the polling station at least 2 days before polling day and (iii) ensure that polls open at 7:00 am and to declare closure by 4:00 pm among others. Accordingly, the polling station layout can be single /multiple depending on the type of election and in the case of general election multiple corresponding to the number of elective position25. 25 The Electoral commission, Uganda (2019), Voter Education Handbook-Revised Edition 28 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report Fig Left; AYDL accredited Youth election observers undergo a mock election simulation during training on polling station layout and issues to observe. Fig right; polling station at upper Kauga O-Z LCV grounds in Mukono district not in observance of station layout and affecting voting for women and persons with disability In Bukedea, of the 25 polling stations, 14 had the polling exercise start between 7:00 am to 8:00 am, 11 had polling start between 8.00 am – 9.00 am. In Bukwo, of the 25 polling stations observed, 15 had the polling exercise start between 7:00 am to 8:00 am while 10 had polling start between 8.00 am to 9.00 am. In Iganga district, of the 25 polling stations, only 7 polling stations had the polling exercise start between 7:00 am to 8:00 while the rest of the 18 polling stations, polling started between 8.00 – 9.00 am and some even beyond 9.00am. In Mukono district, of the 35-polling station, it was observed that at 19 polling station, the exercise started between 7:00 am – 8:00 am while at 16 polling station, the started between 8.00 – 9.00 am. In Wakiso district, it was observed that of the 38 polling stations, 17 had the polling exercise start between 7:00 am – 8:00 am, about 21 polling station started the exercise between 8.00 – 9.00. Observation; The major causes for the delays were the dysfunctional Biometric Voter Verification Machine (BVVM) Kit or failure by the polling officials to operate the gadget, which in some polling stations delayed the start of voting even at the polling stations where voters had arrived by 6:30 am. In some polling station like Gayaza C/U Secondary School, Kyebando Umea and Buwambo playground N-Z in Wakiso District and Kayunga C/U in Mukono district had to abandon the BVV kit all together and resorted to using the manual register. At Kireka Umea Primary School, the voters turned chaotic after a long wait for the officials to get the BVV kit to work until by consensus they agreed to use the manual register to start the voting process. Generally, there was inadequate preparation of designated polling stations prior to the election, delayed delivery of polling materials especially in Wakiso and in some remote areas where accessibility was challenging, delay in arrival of polling officials at their designated polling station, absence of the 5 registered voters at the particular polling station especially in rural polling stations in Bukwo and delays in filling in the official report book for first time polling officials was challenging 7.3 Voting procedure Across polling stations in the 5 districts, we observed that the voting procedure was followed, despite some isolated incidences during counting of votes, filling of forms, announcements of results at polling stations and transmission of results to the returning officers. 29 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 7.4 Observation of Polling Opening Measures Across the polling stations observed, polling officials (100%) turned the ballot boxes upside down to establish that it was empty before polling commenced and sealed the boxes before voting commenced. All observers reported they were able to observe aspects of the counting process with no restrictions. 100% of the observers reported that at least (5) registered voters were there before the opening of the polling kit. Also 100% observed that none of the strategic materials was missing. There were, however, challenges in filling in the official report books and other forms prior to the voting. There were also incidences where the presiding officers tasked the agents to sign Declaration forms prior to the voting process. This happened in Namuyenje Nakisunga Sub County and in Nama Mosque in Nama Sub County in Mukono district. 7.4.1 Voting The observers noted that voting overall was peaceful with no major incidents in the stations that were observed. The Presiding officers received identification of voters, checked to verify their presence in the register and in the BVV kit before handing them a ballot. Some instances of voters being turned away from certain polling stations was especially due to having not picked their voter verification slip to know exactly what their polling station was. Therefore, they had to go around different stations to check for their names, which was quite frustrating. The observers noted a significant number of voters who never knew what to do, some made their choices on the same table where they got the ballot, others never knew who was running for the constituency or women seat and another significant number never knew how to fold the ballot paper. This is a clear indicator of inadequate voter education in most of the areas the observers were present. Figure 1; Voting halted due to malfunctioning of BVVM Figure 2; Voters voting in a polling station that is not properly setup 30 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report Figure 3; A voter cast his vote at the table where he was issued the ballot due to absence of tables for secrecy voting Figure 4; A voter squats to tick his ballot paper while other voters are observing affecting secrecy The observers noted that even though a basin was provided for voters to secretly choose their preferred candidate, this secrecy was often compromised with the way the basins were stationed; it was easy to know what a voter‘s choice was because of the length of the ballot paper. The observer group also noted the heavy military deployment in urban areas. However, the heavy deployment did not directly interfere with the electoral process or even coercing voters in any way. The polling stations in gazette schools or social amenities like hospitals were better organized with sitting chairs and tables available this enabled the polling official in such areas to undertake the voting exercise with ease. For polling station located in urban centers, we observed a complete disconnect in the layout of polling station due to limited space and in some instances, voters lining up alongside roads. Polling officials instructed voters on how to cast their ballot in majority of the polling stations observed. We also observed that polling officials crosschecked the fingers of every voter to ensure that they had not already voted. In majority of the cases, polling officials were able to use the Biometric Voter Verification system. This was partially enabled or facilitated by the procedure of scanning the voter location slips/IDs to retrieve voter information. In circumstances where there was less effort in enforcing SOP guidelines including hand washing and sanitizing after voting, the BVVM threatened the safety of the voters who could easily contract Covid 19 in the process. 7.2.4 Closing of polls and counting of votes We observed that the closing time for polling stations was respected across all polling stations. Police constables stood on the line at 4pm as per the law and those who were in the queue by the time of closure were allowed to cast their vote. Vote counting was done in the open and transparently in the presence of the candidate agents and the voters. Despite the pronouncement that voters should vote and leave, 31 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report they were allowed to freely access the polling stations to observe the counting. However, we observed that the polling officials had challenges in determining ―what a valid Vs invalid vote was. Some of the presiding officers were not exactly sure and yet they have the mandate to determine what is and is not valid during the counting. This created conflicts between them and the candidate agents. This caused delays hence making the process to end late in the night in most polling stations in Wakiso and Mukono. There were concerns raised by some voters after the count on how the results were being moved from the polling station to the tally center. They expressed discomfort and fear that the results could be tampered with in the process. In the past elections, it was easy to follow the delivery of the results because the Presiding officers used motor cycles in the rural areas but this time around a curfew that starts at 9pm was in place and the presiding officers were picked in vehicles. We also observed that the Presiding Officers struggled to fill in the Declaration of Results forms. The multiple DR forms affected the prompt tallying of election results, as many have to be filled in manually. This created conflict and delays making the process to end late in the night hence limiting the ability for observers to fully report on the process for fear of curfew. 7.2.5; Registered voters Voter Turn up, Valid Votes, Voter Invalidity The total number of registered voters in Wakiso, Mukono, Bukedea and Bukwo were higher in 2021 as compared to that of 2016, while in Iganga, there were more registered voters in 2016 compared to 2021 There was an increase in voter turn up in 2021 as compared to 2016 in the districts of Wakiso, Mukono, Bukedea and Bukwo while in Iganga, the turn up was low as compared to that of 2016. The invalid votes across all the districts were lower in 2021 as compared to 2016. Table 1; Comparison of data for registered voters, voter turn up, valid votes, invalid votes and voters that did not turn up in electoral period 2016 and 2021 for Wakiso District Registered Voters Voter turn up Valid votes invalid votes Voters who did not turn up 0 900,035 1,154,857 484,589 574,018 468,251 561,500 16,338 12,518 415,446 580,839 200000 2016 400000 600000 2021 32 800000 1000000 1200000 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report Table 2 Comparison data for registered voters, voter turn up, valid votes, invalid votes and voters that did not turn up in electoral period 2016 and 2021 in Mukono District 292,911 355,275 Registered Voters Voter turn up 184,919 191,329 Valid votes 175,167 186,974 9752 4,355 Invalid votes 107,092 163,946 voter who did not turn up 0 50000 100000 2016 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000 400000 2021 Table 3; Showing comparison data for registered voters, voter turn up, valid votes, invalid votes and voters that did not turn up in electoral period 2016 and 2021 in Iganga District Registered Voters 222,276 186,591 Voter turn up 144,910 97,320 Valid votes 175,167 186,974 Invalid votes voter who did not turn up 9752 4,355 107,092 163,946 0 50000 2016 100000 150000 2021 33 200000 250000 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report Table 4; Comparison data for registered voters, voter turn up, valid votes, invalid votes and voters that did not turn up in electoral period 2016 and 2021 in Bukwo District 36,052 144,126 Registered Voters Voter turn up 28,343 32,895 Valid votes 27,234 31,920 1,109 975 Invalid votes 7,709 11,231 voter who did not turn up 0 10000 2016 20000 30000 40000 50000 2021 Table 5; Comparison data for registered voters, voter turn up, valid votes, invalid votes and voters that did not turn up in electoral period 2016 and 2021 in Bukedea District Registered Voters 83,448 99,828 Voter turn up 60,002 61,724 Valid votes 57,159 58,578 Invalid votes voter who did not turn up 2,843 3,148 23,446 38,104 0 20000 2016 40000 60000 2021 34 80000 100000 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 7.2 Transmission of results The PEA Act section 54 (2) 2005 as amended provides that a copy of the Declaration of Results (DR) form is dully signed by the presiding officer and sealed in tamper proof envelop. This is duly after ensuring the report book is signed and ballot accountability of ballot paper is undertaken with an audit of used or unused ballot paper. The observers in cases where voting ended timely were able to witness the exercise to be able to catch up with the curfew guidelines In the polling stations observed, the Presiding Officers announced the results of the elections to those present and displayed a copy of the DR Form at the polling station. They duly signed where agents were available; copies of DR forms were handed to them. There were few cases where the DR forms were tampered with, a case in point in Nama Sub County, however across the board, the Presiding Officers sealed a copy of the DR form in the tamper proof envelop for transmission to the returning officer. 7.3 Covid-19 SOPs The observers noted with concern that majority of the polling stations monitored never had water and soap for washing hands and those that had them never made use of them as had been put in the guidelines for polling stations. The polling officials made sure everyone who came to join the queue had a mask on at all times. It was also difficult for the constables to enforce the observance of social distancing because of the large crowds or the location of the polling station some of which were in small spaces. 7.4 Curfew restriction There were concerns in hard-to-reach areas where the curfew restriction amidst the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for polling agents to escort polling materials from the polling station to the parish collection centers then to the district tally center. This brought along trust issues and fear amongst polling agents on the security of polling equipment. The curfew restrictions also affected observers as they could not access transport to the polling stations by 6:00 and also had to leave some polling stations before observing the filling in of DR forms. 7.5 Internet shut down The decision by the government to shut down the internet on account of security concerns had a substantial impediment on timely communication for the observers. It was also difficult for people to follow real time incoming information about the electoral process which was very frustrating and affected the ability of observer groups to deliver timely preliminary reports on critical incidences during elections. 35 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 7.6 Electoral offenses These are provided for in the Presidential Election Act 2005 as amended, Parliamentary Elections Act 2005 as amended and the Electoral Commission Act CAP 140 as well as the Local government act. Observation; The observers noted with concern the presence of some candidate posters which were visible in the polling areas. This is prohibited according to the Presidential Election Act Section 45 subsection 2 that states; ―Following the end of the campaign period the following is prohibited; - (a) posts or displays on or in a polling station or in a hall, window or door of a building used as a polling station, any campaign literature, emblem, ensign, badge, label, ribbon, flag, banner, card, bill, poster or device, that could be taken as an indication of support for or opposition to a candidate; or (b) at a polling station, display of any emblem, ensign, badge, label, ribbon, flag, banner, card or device as a badge intended or likely to be taken as intended to distinguish the wearer as a supporter of any candidate. Some of these were placed at strategic locations. There were incidents where agents carried with them tags with branded campaign material in and around the polling stations. In regards to Section 34 of the Electoral Commission Act, the electoral official in this case, the returning officer is mandated to manage the polling exercise at the polling station. We observed cases where voters took over the roles of the presiding officers and in some cases presiding officer not knowledgeable of process. Evidence is captioned in the picture. A voter supports a presiding officer to mark the different ballot boxes to ease voting Voters are inside the non-condoned polling station with no guidance Left: The posters of candidates at the polling area. Right: One of the candidates votes with his poster right behind him at Nabweru Play Ground Polling station in Wakiso District “The Electoral Cycle in Uganda - wall mural at Electoral Commission” by Commonwealth Secretariat is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 36 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 8. POST ELECTION PHASE Drawing analysis on the 2021 electoral process would not be complete without putting the aftermath into perspective. AYDL continued to follow through the post-election phase and conducted a series of engagements to contribute to complete the electoral cycle. Among the activities conducted include the post-election reflection engagements with stakeholders in the target districts of Wakiso, Mukono, Iganga, Bukwo and Bukedea, engaging Political parties and independent candidates who participated in the 2021 presidential race and meeting with the electoral commission. The primary purpose of the engagements was to share the preliminary findings of the election observation report and to capture feedback. The stakeholders at different levels cited key areas of improvement and guided on the way forward. 8.1 Stakeholder Reflection in the Pre, during and postelection The post-election observation engagement and reflection meetings were conducted in the districts of Wakiso, Mukono, Iganga, Bukedea and Bukwo. The targeted stakeholders for the engagements included; the Electoral Commission officials, security agencies, Residence District Commissioners, CSOs, media, political party representatives, private sector, cultural and religious institutions, among others. AYDL partnered with CBOs such +256 Youth Platform in Iganga, Youth Empowerment Solutions in Bukwo district, Tadooba Youth Foundation in Bukedea, and the Human Rights office in Wakiso district to coordinate the meetings. Key emerging issues include; In Wakiso, they said that Voter turnout was low and this was attributed to elections not giving people the desired outcome. They also affirmed that women turned out most and the youth had the lowest margin of voter turnout. They also alluded to the fact that Police were reckless in their dealings throughout the election process. They arrested and intimidated opposition party agents. The presidential candidates had limited time to do country wide consultation They condemned the Kidnaps and torture of the NUP and FDC supporters, killings, violent verbal utterances and misuse of social media. Youth are manipulated and dragged into violence and are always less productive during and post-election because their time is spent running along the campaign trails. They therefore emphasized the need to engage youth politically, socially and economically in the post-election plans of government. Religious leaders especially those in districts are not given opportunity to talk to their followers on the socio-political and economic issue. They emphasized the need for their engagement to spread peace and tolerance throughout the electoral cycle. This was in light of the violent events towards elections and those in the post-election period. The media fraternity in Iganga had challenges of accreditation to cover the electoral process. Unfulfilled promises made by leaders especially the president had made people to question whether it worth voting again. It was alleged that the Boda -Boda community in Iganga had told the older persons not to go and vote because they would die of Covid-19 if they did. 37 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report “Every citizen of Uganda has a right to register and vote - wall mural at Electoral Commission” by Commonwealth Secretariat is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 8. 2. Political party and presidential aspirants‘ engagement AYDL held meetings with four political parties including; Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), National Unity Platform (NUP), Democratic Party (DP), and the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT). NRM kept on postponing and our continuous efforts to engage them was in vain. AYDL also met three independent candidates out of 6 including Engineer John Mayambala, Joseph Kiiza Kabuleta, and General Henry Tumukunde. Most of the issues cited by political parties and independent candidates were similar but most importantly; they went ahead to guide on the alternative approaches of improving meaningful participation of people especially the marginalized groups in the electoral process of Uganda. Some of the issues that stood out during our conversations with the political parties and independent candidates include the following; The FDC, DP and NUP together with the independent candidates alluded to the fact that it was money out competing money‘, the NRM being on advantage. It was asserted that voter bribery was rampant especially in areas with strong opposition candidates. The case in point was in Mbarara where war broke out between the current MP and the son of Hon. Betty Kamya who used money to buy votes and forced the victims to show case the ballot paper after voting for the incumbent candidate. This incident thereafter led to the arrest of the FDC candidate. The campaigns were conducted in a scientific nature which only favored the incumbent. Anexample of Kakumiro Community radio, owned by Hon. Nabbanja was cited as being inaccessible by the opposition candidates. A similar issue was cited in Hoima, Kamwenge and Kiboga districts. Further still, in Hoima City, Kyagulanyi, and the NUP former presidential candidate was picked from a radio station by police. 38 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report Arrest and torture made on the opposition presidential candidates ruined the smooth running of campaigns. For example, Eng. Amuriat the FDC presidential candidate was arrested 13 times and taken to court 3 times during the campaign trail while in Kagadi and he was charged for being in an open roof vehicle a crime that does not exist. In the same vein, Amuriat security detail car was shot by the police in Kitagwenda district. Some of the opposition candidates‘ agents in some upcountry polling stations were chased away. An example, of Kazo and Ntungamo was sited where all opposition and independent candidates were chased away and soldiers took over. The after math of the 2021 elections witnessed a number of kidnaps on opposition members, for example Muganga Tawuffiki Councilor Kasambya and a member of the FDC and many NUP supporters. The continued violation of the rights of journalists during and in the aftermath of the elections. A case in point is when they were covering Hon. Kyagulanyi taking his human rights violation petition to the UN offices for Human Rights. Alliance for National Transformation alluded to the fact that the 2021 general elections were a manifestation of Identity politics and that reconciliation dialogues should be held in the post election period to unite people. 9. RECOMMENDATIONS Just like any domestic election observation group, AYDL and its partners set out to observe the electoral process with the aim of making recommendations to improve Uganda‘s democratic processes, applaud the processes that were done well and also condemn incidents that were blatant abuse of the electoral process. 9.1 Electoral commission 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ensure adequate training for electoral staff on the polling procedure including the audit of materials delivered, set up of the polling station to ensure secrecy and easy access to PWDs, assisted voting, the use of the BVV kit and taking charge of the polling station without any interference of the candidates‘ agents. Improve the roll out of voter education across the country for voters to know how to use the ballot paper, how to fold it and to understand that they can return a ballot paper in case they made a mistake while making their choice. Have targeted tailor made outreaches to especially districts that have less access to information. Accredit more civil society organizations early enough to start the voter education process. Ensure that packing of materials for every polling station is in future done more effectively and labeled correctly to avoid delivery of wrong materials to polling stations, which cause delays in starting the voting. Ensure that ballot papers are printed with the right symbols ascribed to the right candidate to avoid postponement of elections in some areas, which comes with additional administrative costs. More adequate lighting equipment should be availed to electoral officials especially in rural constituencies to curtail the possibility of any delays in counting of votes Re-evaluate the accreditation process for observers both local and international 39 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report including the media which this time around came with lots of delays. Some observer organizations got their accreditation when it was late, which created a logistical nightmare since they had to train and deploy them at very short notice. Accreditation often came out late often too close to the election and never gave organizations adequate time to prepare, train and deploy observers. There was also confusion when all of a sudden EC stopped accreditations and even when it decentralized to the districts, some were not part of the decentralized process like Wakiso which affected the ability of observer organizations to train and deploy observers on time. 7 There should be a mechanism for training extra polling officials in cases where there a fall out of a polling officer due to emergencies or other situations. The Mechanism for training extra polling officials in cases where there a fall out of a polling officer due to emergencies or other situations is valid 8 Polling station re-organization; In regards to polling station, re-organization, creation/ allocation, splitting, rationalization, reallocation and renaming of polling stations. It is important that all these processes are published using church events, community notice boards and other forums for the public to know the actual polling station as many voters were unaware of their polling station despite them having their voter locator slips. 9 Accessibility of Polling stations and inclusive Training of Polling officials; The disabled and aged persons experience physical obstacles hindering their right to vote and this was due to inaccessible polling stations and personnel inability to communicate. It‘s important that the polling station reorganization takes into consideration accessibility as well as training of polling officials with some basic sign language communication. In addition to the above, enough space around the polling stands, low tables and voting tables located right at the entrance can often be sufficient to increase accessibility for voters in wheelchairs or other disabilities. Other measures can be taken to help other groups of disabled persons, such as having large symbols on ballot papers for those with bad eyesight or low literacy. All possible measures should be taken to ensure the human rights approach as regards to PWD‘s is taken care of. 10 Consider collaborating with disability organizations to develop protocols for PWD participation in the elections. In the process, we will be able to develop mechanism for registration process with segments of the different disabilities. 11 Electoral calendar; we recommend that there is reversal in the electoral calendar for voting to start with the lowest to the highest election. This will contribute to increased morale to voters across the electoral calendar. 9.2 Civil Society 1 2 3 Intensify voter education at the grassroots level to improve people‘s understanding of the value of their vote and the procedure for voting. Expand deployment of observers, and continue reporting and making recommendations for improvement based on accurate data. A truth telling session between civil society and government on ways on improving the observation efforts and having a more cordial relationship rather than the current one based on suspicions. 40 AYDL - Presidential Election Observation Report 9.3 Development Partners 1 Timely funding of election activities since an election is not an event but a process that requires adequate preparation and planning 9.4 The candidates and Political Parties 1 2 3 4 5 6 Train your agents to understand and appreciate the process and to know what materials must be at the polling station at the opening and when to sign the declaration of result forms. Facilitate your agents to be able to transport themselves to the polling station and to cater for lunch to avoid being compromised by other candidate agents. Any electoral complaints should be channeled through the established procedures. Respect electoral laws before, during and after polling and encourage your supporters to be peaceful throughout the process. There is need to organize Information session to candidates and parties in regards to electoral laws and guidelines to cater for effective enforcement. Desist from circulating false or inflammatory information among citizens. The mandate to announce results and declare a winner is reserved for the Electoral Commission as stipulated in the constitution, so desist from declaring results that have not been confirmed and approved by the Electoral Commission. 9.5 Security apparatus 1 2 Be professional while executing your duties and remain impartial as you maintain law and order Work with the election stakeholders to deal with electoral incidents by taking appropriate legal measure to deal with situations. 9.6 Legislature 1 2 Consider legal reforms to include early voting for certain categories of citizens such Election administration staff, medical staff, security personnel, election observers, media. The law should also be amended to make it possible for Ugandans in the diaspora to participate in the voting either through designated embassies and consulates or also be given an opportunity to do mail in voting. 11. ANNEXES Annex 1: Election Day Checklist Annex II: Critical Incident Checklistbvbvbvcccc 41 P.O. Box: 5364 Kampala-Uganda Address: Plot 2, Agape Close, Ntinda Kigoowa. on kiwatule road Tel: +256 414 530 280 Email: info@aydl.org Website: www.aydl.org