UGANDA'S FLAWED ELECTIONS: Ssemogerere grumbling over ‘robbed’ victory 25 years later

In their final report, which we have been serialising in the last one week, the Commonwealth Observers concluded that despite all deficiencies, the 1980 elections reflected "the voice of the people" of Uganda, who had "carried the process to a worthy and valid conclusion."

In this part of the series, the Democratic Party President-General, Dr Paulo Kawanga Ssemogerere, tells Daily Monitor why the Observers should not be taken seriously. He maintains that he was robbed of victory.

On the importance of elections

Democratic elections are a necessary condition for a country particularly as diverse as Uganda. When you have added so many nationalities together to form what I would call a multinational state, you need a formula by which leadership emerges and is generally acceptable to that heterogeneous society. I know of no other formular which would be acceptable other than a democratic election. The democratic aspect is particularly significant because if elections are not democratic, they are illegitimate.

Overview of the 1980 elections

The military factor, more so the role of the Military Commission, was preeminent and it did affect the overall electoral process. There were many administrative measures taken before and during the electoral process that affected the elections. For instance, practically the entire West Nile went to the elections without valid registers.

Secondly many returning officers did not displace any independence as required because they were under the dictates of the Military Commission. As a result, in several places like Teso, Kasese, this led to the cancellation of nominations of certain candidates like Dr [Henry] Bwambale. In many places, the electoral process, including campaigns, was characterised by state inspired violence.

The electoral law was also defective. For instance, the method of polling using multiple ballot boxes provided very many loopholes for tampering with the ballot papers, with claims of some symbols on the ballot boxes being exchanged and thereby reversing the results.

But there was one gain made in those elections — to put in place a requirement for ballots be counted at the polling station immediately after polling and in the presence of polling agents. Where serious civic education had been carried out, particularly for the polling agents, and the above condition or improvement was observed, the process was more transparent in contrast to other places.

There was ample circumstantial evidence to show that the final results were changed or not accounted as they had been counted.

This was the case in Iganga in the elections for the seat contested by Luwuliza Kirunda and Paulo Wangola, in Mubende for the seat contested by Dr Paul Sebuliba, in Kabale Central in the seat contested by Robert Kitariko and Katama, and many others. Francis Bwengye’s book, the Agony of Uganda, has more details.

The reversal of election results, coupled with the proclamation by Paulo Muwanga, the Chairman of the Military Commission — barring the returning officers from announcing the results as and when they were counted but first submitting them to his office — constituted a fatal blow to the transparency and fairness of the elections.

On the Commonwealth Observers’ Report, which appears to suggest that the irregularities were not of a nature that would have changed the final result.

That report is full of contradictions. It shows incompleteness.

On the report’s conclusion that despite the “reservations regarding nominations and a number of unopposed returns,” about “half of the seats involved are likely to have been captured by the UPC in any event, so that despite their effect on the arithmetic, they are unlikely to have affected the outcome.”