Avoid turning elections into a curse in disguise

Author, Samuel Baligidde. PHOTO/FILE.

What you need to know:

Ambassodor Baligidde says: The key to peace and stability though is a free and fair election...  

There is hardly an election anywhere in the world where some kind of rigging isn’t a daunting challenge.

My interaction with former regional peacekeeping force commanders, peace builders and high level post-election conflict mediators within the Igad and AU frameworks, enabled me to elicit the activities that constitute election-related foul play that comprise rigging.  

Peacekeepers monitor and facilitate observance of ceasefire agreements. Their roles include other aspects such as elections or popular consultations, human rights investigations, humanitarian relief and rebuilding State and physical infrastructures. 

Actions undertaken by the UN in a conflict situation aimed at addressing the root causes of the problem so as to prevent a recurrence of the conflict once UN presence is scaled down or phased out are referred to as peace-building. Kibuli-based Supreme Mufti Sheikh Kasule Ndirangwa correctly observed that “an election is like a game.”

The key to peace and stability though is a free and fair election where all the contestants and supporters follow ‘the rules of the game.’

Disruption of rallies, denial of permission to assemble; criminalising campaign-related political activities, intensifying political gangsterism by the contestants, brutalising candidates and their supporters, creation of a sense of insecurity to drive away potential voters, delaying delivery of ballot boxes and papers; creating confusion and despondency by delivering mixed up ballots or the wrong ones; transferring ballot boxes to un-gazetted locations and while there stuffing them with pre-ticked ballot papers; ignoring reports of foul play and letting the complainants talk until they give up; counting ballots at different locations away from polling stations thereby creating opportunities for introduction of contraband boxes stuffed with pre-stuffed ballot papers while arranging for the genuine ones to disappear during transportation; refusing to concede defeat even if it’s obvious that a party or candidate has lost.

Stopping the announcement of adverse results while buying time for vote re-counts and repeating the process; the returning officer reverses the vote count or adds new digits to the election totals of particular candidates so that the loser wins and the genuine winner loses; when brawls break-out, seemingly incautious security officials swing into action to ostensibly restore law and order, but “inadvertently” aggravate the situation; and pandemonium sends the candidates’ polling agents and supporters helter-skelter out of the tally centre.

All the above have in varying degrees reportedly been experienced in Uganda and neighbouring countries. Whereas ruling parties are often accused of perpetrating electoral vices, conflict reports and witness accounts suggest that enraged Opposition actors engage in rigging too albeit with lesser efficacy. 

During a mediation retreat at Addis Ababa in 2018, I interacted with the chairman of the DRC mediation process Bishop Jean Luc Kuye Ndondo Wamulemera, who said as the country braced for elections, the Congolese prayed for their abolition.

After the Jasmine Revolution Tunisia, Libya and Egypt seemingly jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

No Ugandan would want the same fate to befall this country. Since both the quantitative and qualitative anatomy of the problem are known civilised means should be used to resolve outstanding issues. Wrong decisions and unlawful actions shouldn’t be carried out to the electorate’s discomfort except as a measure for legitimate prevention of the spread of Covid-19. 

Hopefully, the recent changes in the security command and control structures will guarantee State and individual security in equal measure. There are many ways of expressing political discontent without resorting to violent confrontation. 

Ambassador Baligidde is a member of the Igad Mediation Support Unit’s High Level Mediation Roster. [email protected]