The Commonwealth Observer Group reports that Uganda's third multi-party election suffered from the same failures as previous ones, and fell well short of being a measure of the true will of the people. Key concerns include the increased prevalence of money in politics; the misuse of state resources; and the competence, credibility, and ability of the Electoral Commission to manage the process effectively. On election day, there were inexcusable delays in opening polling stations caused by the failure to deliver voting materials and the evidently inadequate training of polling staff. Though the campaigns were relatively peaceful, they say, opposition parties and candidates often had trouble accessing the media. Distributed in the US by Stylus Publishing. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
The report of the Commonwealth Observer Group for Uganda presidential election held on 18 February 2016. The group, chaired by former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, comprised 13 eminent persons including Senator Amos Wako of Kenya as Vice-Chairperson.These were the country's third multi-party elections and the group concluded that once again, Uganda has fallen well short of meeting many of the key democratic benchmarks for the conduct of credible elections. Certain key concerns remain, namely, the increased prevalence of money in politics, the misuse of state resources and, the competence, credibility and the ability of the Electoral Commission to manage the process effectively.
