UGANDA'S FLAWED ELECTIONS: Observers have their final say on the polls

18. The law covering the conduct of the elections was the 1967 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and the National Assembly (Elections) Act 1957. The 1957 Act had been amended in October 1980, in particular to enlarge the jurisdiction of the courts in dealing with electoral matters, to increase the number of party representatives participating in the polling process and to enhance substantially the penalties for offences under the Act.

19.Prior to the 1980 amendment, the decision of a returning officer as to the validity of a nomination paper was final and could not be questioned in any court proceedings. The repeal of this provision (Section 21(4)) had the effect of giving the courts jurisdiction they did not previously enjoy.

We attach considerable importance to this amendment both in itself and as evidence of the administration's willingness to have decisions of returning officers on nominations subjected to scrutiny by the courts. But for this amendment, aggrieved parties would have been denied any remedy on the question of improper rejection of the nomination papers of their candidates. We return to this vital point later in our Report when dealing with the question of nominations.

20. At the same time, by the National Assembly (Prescription of Elected Members) Statute 1980, the number of elected members to the National Assembly was increased from 82 to 126.

The Electoral Commission

21. The Electoral Commission of Uganda, established by the 1957 Act, was revived after having been moribund for many years. It was charged with exercising general direction and supervision over the administrative conduct of the elections and enforcing on the part of all election officers fairness, impartiality and compliance with the provisions of the Act. Its powers to do so were in practice severely circumscribed.

22. The six Members of the Commission and its Secretary were selected after consultations with the political parties. Some of the political parties considered that their views had not been adequately taken into account when the appointments were made.
Apart from the limited regional experience of the Chairman, Mr. K.M.S. Kikira, none of the Commissioners had any previous experience in organising national elections - the last election having been held as long ago as 1962.

23. The Commission was formally constituted on 25 June 1980 and held its first meeting on 2 July. Between then and 10 December the Commission was responsible for the demarcation of constituencies, the preparation of a national register of voters, nominations and the organisation and conduct of the poll, including the procurement and distribution of election material throughout the country. To attempt all this within the short space of about five months was clearly a herculean task, all the more so in Uganda's unsettled and disorganised conditions.

24. In discharging its work the Commission relied heavily on the existing machinery of a weakened district administration.

25. The 126 constituencies were divided between the 33 administrative districts in proportion to their estimated population, roughly on the basis of one constituency for each 100,000 of population.

26. While some criticism had been made earlier as to the rounding up and rounding down of population figures in the course of this exercise, such specific reservations as the parties themselves had were not placed before us, the demarcation having been accepted by them all long before our arrival. We do not feel competent to comment on the matter beyond noting that demarcation of constituencies is a notoriously difficult matter which seldom satisfies all parties.