Election thieves must be barred from office
Never before have so many Members of Parliament been kicked out of the House on account of court petitions; the latest culprits being Buyamba’s Amos Mandela and Rakai’s Juliet Kinyamatama. Six months after the February polls, an excess of 20 MPs have had their seats pulled from under their ample posteriors.
The reasons are countless but generally speak to illegal activity. Forged academic papers, ballot fiddling; armed aggression against peace-loving constituents with the criminal help of rogues in the security services; outright bribery or even getting electoral commission officials to manufacture phantom results is what many of these dodgy politicians have been caught out doing.
What we are contending with is an unprecedented state of affairs; a situation which calls for urgent redress in the manner in which we determine who should be eligible for elective office. Under the current law, nothing prevents a dirty politician who has been caught trying to con his or her way into Parliament from running again – a grave mistake which must be corrected.
Their dishonourable conduct notwithstanding, it has become common place for such undesirables to re-infuse themselves into our political life. Given the corrupt example they shamelessly set, these sorts, in themselves, make the strongest argument for electoral law reform.
Our laws should be re-written to bar electoral thieves from presenting their rude selves for election once caught in the act. Just as the anti-corruption laws bar people who steal from Ugandans from public service for years after the act, it is time we stopped anyone whose election has been overturned from running afresh.
It is not that Parliament as we know it today offers a shining example of moral rectitude. The unhappy reality is that we simply have to regain some of the ground that has been lost to chicanery in our politics.
Because we have allowed the lowest of the low to insinuate themselves into leadership positions, we are now regrettably witnessing the worst forms of irresponsible and crass conduct in a Parliament stuffed with MPs who feel entitled to suck as much as possible from the taxpayer.
The country needs to set certain minimum moral standards. The National Resistance Movement’s lackadaisical approach to the fight of corruption; in fact its suspected complicity in the theft and misuse of public resources has wrought enough damage on our collective morality already. Luckily for Uganda, the courts, in their firm rulings impugning electoral thuggery, have opened a wide window through which a much-needed breath of fresh air can be let in.
The message is clear: If you must represent the people, one should show that one’s credentials are beyond reproach.
The issue: Election fraud.
Our view: Our laws should be re-written to bar electoral thieves from presenting their rude selves for election once caught in the act.
