EC faulted on deployment in Butaleja

A civil society organisation suspects that the voter turnout was low due to the heavy deployment of police.

The Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) has blamed the Electoral Commission for the heavy deployment of police during the Butaleja Woman MP by-election, saying it was uncalled for.

The civil society organisation said the police and the army should be accountable and rational in terms of numbers deployed to manage elections.
The seat fell vacant following the death of Cerinah Nebanda last December.

Presenting a draft report for the Butaleja by-election yesterday, Mr Crispy Kaheru, the project coordinator for CCEDU, said the registered voter turnout was low, suspecting that it could have been a result of heavy deployment.

“The army and the police could have potentially scared away voters. There was also a massive deployment of ununiformed detectives at every polling station which we think was beyond limits,” Mr Kaheru said.

However, when contacted, the EC spokesperson, Mr Joatham Taremwa, said the body was responsible for working with other organisation to ensure that elections are carried out in a free, fair and peaceful environment.
During the election, the police said they deployed to ensure peace following clashes between NRM supporters and those of Ms Betty Hamba, an Independent candidate.

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