NGO rallies boda boda cyclists to promote 2016 elections

The coordinator of the Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda, Mr Crispy Kaheru (L), hands a poster to a boda boda rider in Bugembe Town Council in Jinja Town last weekend. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER KIRUNDA

What you need to know:

Mr Kaheru told the cyclists to become ambassadors of the exercise and convince people to participate in the exercise since they interact with many people daily.

Jinja- The Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy has teamed up with boda boda cyclists in a campaign aimed at convincing Ugandans of voting age to participate in the 2016 general elections.

The campaign aims at raising public awareness about the ongoing update of a national voters’ register, polls and fighting voter apathy.

Speaking in Bugembe Town Council, Jinja District, where he launched the campaign last weekend, the NGO’s coordinator, Mr Crispy Kaheru, said many people are not aware about the register update exercise.

Mr Kaheru told the cyclists to become ambassadors of the exercise and convince people to participate in the exercise since they interact with many people daily.

“You boda boda riders carry many people on a given day, therefore we are choosing you to be ambassadors for spreading the message about the participation in the elections to every passenger you carry so that more people can exercise their right to vote,” he said.

The NGO coordinator also handed the riders posters bearing messages aimed at rallying the public to participate in the exercise.

The background

Update of the voters’ register commenced on March 17 and is scheduled to end on April 30 but preliminary reports indicate that public turn out for the verification of their names has been very poor.