.
Question:
Who is eligible to vote in Uganda?
How many people has the Electoral Commission registered?
Answer:
In Uganda, all citizens of 18 years and above are eligible to register.
By the beginning of the year 2004, the Electoral Commission had
registered about 8.2 million people. Registration is an on-going
process, implying this figure keeps growing, depending on the numbers
being registered.
Question:
Where
can the eligible voters go to be registered?
Answer.
The Electoral Commission has offices in all districts of Uganda,
where registration takes place. Registration is done at the district
headquarters by the Commissions' District Registrars.
Eligible voters can also file their names and bio-data with their
respective Parish Chiefs throughout the country, after which the
District registrars can be notified to take their pictures and register
them.
The Commission also registers people at its head office in Kampala.
Organizations that have more than twenty un-registered members of
staff can also invite the Commission (in writing) to register them
from their premises.
Eligible voters can register from either their place of residence
or place of origin.
Note: Eligible voters should not register more than once. It is
a punishable crime if one is found to have registered more than
once!
Question: How
can an eligible voter be sure that he/she is duly registered?
Answer. The Electoral Commission now uses
the Photo-bearing register. This means that only people whose photos
have been taken by the Commission can be sure that they have been
registered. Electoral Commission staff are therefore busy even after
general elections, but become busier during the peak election period.
Question. Who
are the key people at the Electoral Commission? What are their respective
roles and contacts?
Answer. The Electoral Commission is headed by the
Chairman, Eng. Dr. Badru M. Kiggundu.
The Commission divided the country into electoral regions, to be
able to closely supervise elections. The Chairman is responsible
for the Northern Region and can be reached on telephone number 0414
255598.
The Deputy Chairperson, Sr. Margaret Magoba is in charge of Central
South Region and can be reached on 041 259985.
The Electoral Commission has five other commissioners, namely; Dr.
Jenny B. Okello, Mr. Stephen Ongaria, Mr. Joseph Biribonwa, Mr.
Tom Buruku, and Ambassador Dr. Tomasi Sisye Kiryapawo.
Commissioner Dr. Jenny B. Okello is responsible for the South West
region and can be reached on 041 345048.
Commissioner Stephen Ongaria oversees the Mid Western Region and
can be reached on 0414 230148.
Commissioner Joseph N. Biribonwa is in charge of Near East Region,
and can be reached on 0414 255597
Commissioner Tom. Buruku is in Charge of Central North Region, and
can be reached on 0414 255580.
Commissioner Amb. Dr. Tomasi Sisye Kiryapawo is in charge of the
Far East Region and can be reached on 0414 230580.
The Secretary to the Commission, and Chief Accounting Officer, is
Mr. Sam A. Rwakoojo, can be reached on 0414 341299.
Question:
What do you people do at the Commission now that there are no elections?
Answer.
Organizing an election or referendum is not just an event rather
it is a process. This means that before any electoral activity starts,
there is need for a lot of planning, budgeting and research, which
takes a lot of time and resources. The Electoral Commission assesses
and evaluates the cost and other implications of all the available
options and presents them to government. So during the off-peak
periods, the Commission does a lot of planning.
There are activities that are not pegged on elections, and will
go on even when there are no elections. Key among such activities
is continuous voter registration. The Commission has Registrars
in all districts in Uganda, who register eligible voters at the
district and Parish levels. Once the pictures and bio data of such
eligible voters are captured, they are forwarded to the head office
for integrating into the national database (photo-bearing register).
The Commission also conducts by-elections, in places where vacancies
may occur. A by-election may occur when the holder of the office
dies, resigns, or when a court of law nullifies the election result.
A vacancy can occur at any time, and the Commission is required
by law to organize a by-election, hence the need for a high level
of preparedness.
