By Spy Uganda
Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde, who is one of the 2021 Presidential contenders, has called upon the Electoral Commission to postpone the 2021 general elections if they cannot organize a ‘normal’ electoral process agreeable to all stake holders.
Gen.Tumukunde, revealed this Wednesday during a press conference held at his offices in Kololo,where he noted that there is was need to rush into an election during the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
He thus advised the Electoral Commission to postpone the 2021 general election if they are to avoid the negative repercussions that will arise if they insist on going ahead with the scheduled Scientific Elections, which are expected to be held early next year.
“Everyone seeing that this is a pandemic. If it was not so, you would not have cared to shift the conduct of the election. If the situation is not normal, something else needs to be done. The pandemic is the reason we cannot carry out fully-fledged elections. What are we now rushing for,” Tumukunde wondered.
Tumukunde noted that the postponement would allow all Ugandans to participate in the general elections under a free and fair environment as envisaged by Uganda’s constitution.
The renegade UPDF General, who is currently out on bail over treason charges, called upon all opposition politicians to boycott the E.C Scientific Elections, arguing that it is against the laws governing elections in Uganda.
Tumukunde told journalists that for the revised roadmap to be implemented, the Electoral Commission ought to have amended the law to cater for that.
He insisted that such abnormal times require amendment of the law to cater for the abnormalities.
“Essentially, you can’t change the method of campaigning without changing the law. This is not a normal situation. If it was one, there would not be a need to conduct campaigns in such a manner. If it is an abnormal situation, the law says something about it,” he noted.
The General added that; “If there is social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the virus, how will you deliver voting materials effectively? If in normal circumstances we find difficulties in delivering materials in time, how about in such a time?”
Tumukunde’s remarks comes a few days after the Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama announced that Uganda will hold the first ever scientific general elections, as one of the ways of preventing the spread of the killer COVID-19 virus.
According to the revised 2021 General Elections Roadmap, the E.C banned all political gatherings of any kind, which is in line with the Ministry of Health’s guidelines on banning gatherings of more than five people, as one of the ways of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The E.C also announced that instead of physical political rallies, all candidates are to hold digital campaigns through social media, newspapers, plus radio and TV stations, so as to avoid mass gatherings.
But the revised Roadmap has since met a lot of resistance from several opposition politicians, many of whom contend that it is against Uganda’s constitution and that to implement it, government would have to organize a referendum first, such that Ugandans can decide.
