Presidential candidates representatives and Electoral Commission officials have failed to agree on the way forward regarding the violation of Covid-19 guidelines during campaigns.
Following the continuous violation of Covid-19 guidelines by most presidential candidates, Police and President Yoweri Museveni called for a quick intervention to ensure that such candidates are dealt with since they put people’s lives at risk.
On Friday, EC through its spokesperson Paul Bukenya noted that they were making arrangements to meet to meet security, health officials as well as presidential candidates to forge a way forward.
“Soon we are going to call these candidates and talk to them, show them the dangers of holding mass gathering amidst the outbreak of Covid-19. Even Ugandans must know that as long as they enjoy these mass gatherings, they must know that we have a common enemy Covid-19 which we must avoid,” Bukenya said last week.
On Monday, the meeting took place at EC headquarters in Kampala. However according to those who attended, the meeting yielded no fruit.
“When we bring our concerns, they don’t look at them as issues. We came here to dialogue but in the meeting, EC had already made its stand, however, we are cautioning them that we are about to refuse to attend such meetings. We are being suffocated by the security who have been beating our supporters,” said Boniface Toterebuka Bamwenda, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Electoral Commission Chairperson.
Independent presidential candidate John Katumba also said that the meeting was not fruitful at all.
“The meeting was a total wastage of time, all they want us to do is impossible. They want us to hold scientific campaigns with people having masks but they never give out masks to people. Secondly, security is becoming inhumane on us, while president Museveni was in Arua, police refused me to hold my campaigns in Yumbe, Maracha and Koboko,” he said.
However on his part, the EC Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama said, “Candidates saying that they wasted their time coming here, it’s unfortunate that some of them have that kind of view because in my understanding it’s us the EC that manages the entire electoral and we have the mandate to be communicating with the participants in the processes. Secondly, it’s through such meetings that we sort out issues affecting them.”
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