Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Electoral Commission (EC) Chairman Justice Simon Byabakama has said that the absence of international election observers cannot stop an electoral process from taking place. Byabakama’s statement follows a revelation by the Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Uganda, Ambassador Attilio Pacifici …
Read More »Electoral Commission dragged to court over digital elections
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Electoral Commission has been dragged to court for banning open-air campaigns in the run-up to the 2021 general elections. Ugandans will go to the polls between January and February 2021, to elect a President, Members of Parliament and Local council leaders. But instead …
Read More »Prisons service seeks guidance on inmates ‘Right to Vote’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Prisons Service is seeking guidance on how inmates will participate in elections while incarcerated away from their places of origin or even areas where they are registered as voters. This comes a day after high court Judge Lydia Mugambe ordered the government …
Read More »Court allows Ugandans in diaspora, prisoners to participate in elections
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The High Court in Kampala has ordered the government and the Electoral Commission to allow Ugandans in Diaspora and those in prison to participate in elections. The order was issued this morning by Justice Lydia Mugambe, on the basis of a petition filed two years …
Read More »Accepting scientific election is escorting Museveni to victory – Opposition
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Political players and commentators have described as impractical, illegal, biased and in bad faith, the pronouncement by the Electoral Commission to ban open-air campaigns in the run-up to the 2021 general elections. Electoral Commission chairman Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama announced on Tuesday that in …
Read More »Half year on, activists fear no justice for Iran protest killings
Paris, France | AFP | Half a year after protests which Iran has now acknowledged claimed more than 200 lives, rights groups fear the real toll from the crackdown was far higher and that nobody will be brought to justice. Protests erupted across Iran from November 15-19 after a sudden fuel …
Read More »Opposition groups challenge new EC roadmap
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Justice Forum-JEEMA has described the reviewed Electoral Commission roadmap as unconstitutional. Asuman Basaalirwa, the Justice Forum President says that the Constitution does not provide for the guidelines issued by the commission in preparation for the 2021 polls. The new roadmap which was released on …
Read More »Tanzania’s Magufuli dissolves parliament ahead of elections
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Tuesday dissolved parliament to allow for elections in October, pledging a “free and fair” vote in a country where the opposition has decried a climate of fear and violence. Magufuli, who took office in 2015 promising a crackdown on corruption but whose strongman …
Read More »Court quashes Democratic Party faction NEC elections
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The High Court in Kampala has quashed the recent elections that were conducted by a section of Democratic party members to purportedly fill up vacant positions in the National Executive Committee. DP members led by Rajab Ssenkubuge convened a meeting on March 13, 2020, …
Read More »IN THE INDEPENDENT: Experts dig in on Uganda’s 45T budget
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | These are the top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT. COVER STORY Tough budget: What finance experts say about Shs45.4tn, debt, taxes THE LAST WORD The trouble with URA: Why Museveni’s focus on corruption as the biggest problem of tax administration misses the big picture …
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