Opposition to meet over poll malpractice

Kampala

Opposition political parties will on Thursday meet to take a common stand over the election malpractices observed in the yet-to be-concluded general elections.

The Democratic Party [DP] spokesperson, Mr Kenneth Kakande, told Daily Monitor that parties were working together to find an appropriate solution to the alleged state-funded hooliganism that has consistently marred the polls.

“We are meeting with all the opposition political parties and pressure groups on Thursday to get an antidote to the thugs-approach. We should not sit back and look on when the future of our country is under siege by hooligans,” Mr Kakande said in Kampala on Saturday. He said DP will work with IPC member parties and the Uganda Peoples Congress to fight election misconduct.

The IPC Chairman, Mr Asuman Basalirwa, said the current election malpractices were affecting every party hence a need to combine efforts. He warned that government’s continued abuse of the electoral process would trigger violence in the country.

“As IPC we have always embraced the spirit of working together for a common cause. We have already held meetings with several opposition party leaders, including DP to handle the Electoral Commission’s unprofessional conducts,” Mr Basalirwa said on phone yesterday.

The opposition has since the start of the general polls on February 18, accused the EC of working with the ruling NRM party to suffocate the opposition through vote rigging and organising illegal vote recounts. But the EC denies the allegations, saying the institution was treating each party fairly.

Several election observers described the elections as free and fair.
Although they acknowledged that there were cases of violence, the poll monitors said, compared to the 2006 general elections, this year’s exercise was conducted in a democratically conducive environment.