The new EC may have passed the first practical test, but will it keep the steam?

My two cents; kudos to the EC for a well-organized election in Aruu

North Constituency last week.

Time check: Thursday 6th April, 4:00am and the polling materials were

already being dispatched from the Pader EC office to the seven (7) Sub

counties of Aruu North. And this was after a detailed pre-deployment

briefing of both the EC staff and the Police officers in charge of the

day.  By 5:30am, all materials had left Pader for the sub counties and

the polling stations.  That logistical efficiency has always eluded us

– when it comes to elections.

Of course some polling stations suffered delays in commencing voting.

A number of these were in Latanya sub county.  They hadn’t received

materials to begin polling by 7:00am – the designated time for the

start of voting.  Others didn’t have the five registered voters

required to be present before the opening of the polling kit. By and

large, the train was on course by the better part of the morning.

After a slow start in the morning hours, the election quickly picked

up in the afternoon.  Locals spoken to in the earlier part of the day

remained optimistic – that the lines would get much longer in the

afternoon.  Their faith wasn’t in vain; by midday, the queues were

indeed winding in some places. Middle–aged female voters were a common

sight at most polling stations.

At Ogan Primary School in Pajule sub county, the polling station was

filled with ladies – from voters (who were present) to the polling

officials.  The polling staff seemed to run things with an exceptional

degree of precision, meticulousness and confidence. You could get an

early sense that this was an election of and for the women.  At Paiula

Primary School, a local election observer noticed something perky

penned on one of the ballot papers – that were being counted.  Instead

of a tick or thumbprint, a voter had inscribed the words, “I love u”

right against their candidate of choice. It was lady candidate, Lucy

Achiro (now Hounourable) who had received that public display of

affection.  Unfortunately, it may have been the voter’s authentic

feelings flaunted via a wrong platform. That ballot paper was

invalidated.

At a technical level, the election broke the voter turnout record set

by by-elections conducted between 2011 and 2016.  In the last

electoral cycle, voter turnout for by-elections wandered between 20%

and 40%.  Aruu North by-election registered an impressive 55%.  This

shouldn’t be counted as chest thumping; but acknowledged as progress

registered. Voter turnout in previous by-elections has been extremely

tormenting. But what could have accounted for this increase in Aruu

North? Was it the general euphoria around the election? Could it be

that candidates urged their supporters to register and vote? May be

the former, may be the latter; but of course it was less of integrated

voter education or call it mobilisation.  CCEDU reports indicate that

voter education came in very limited doses in Aruu North.  Had there

been tailored voter mobilization efforts, may be the participation

would have been much higher than the now acclaimed 55%. May be we

would have seen fewer than the 915 invalid votes out of the 26,719

total votes cast. May be!

Does that mean we need to collectively step up voter education for

subsequent elections? I strongly think we need to.

Aruu North has 95 polling stations spread across seven sub counties.

We are talking about generally rural sub counties accessed mostly by

murram roads.  For a Constituency of such size, you would be sure to

receive all polling returns back to the tally center anytime after

midnight – after closure of voting at 4:00pm.  By around 10:00pm on

the day of voting, the Electoral Commission had completed the tallying

process and was able to announce the final results at 10:33pm.

Just like elections always do, the Aruu North by-election came with

fears, worries and anxieties. But it also came with a strong

conviction among many that it was going to be an election well

conducted.  Anxieties manifested themselves through suspicion, doubts

and in some cases real fights.  Local media, Police, the Electoral

Commission, observers and the candidates themselves did their best to

manage the public’s fears – without letting uncertainties spiral out

of control.  When the youth in Angagura begun to physically engage

each other, the Police quickly stepped in to resolve the matter –

without causing more angst. When the observers reported incidents, the

EC was responsive.  Local media passed messages urging voters to

remain calm on the voting day. Political parties and candidates kept a

tone of responsibility throughout the Election Day.  Voters turned up

and voted – largely peacefully.  In brief, everyone seemed to have

played their role – to their best.

Can we then say that the EC took some good notes and lessons from the

recommendations made by the Supreme Court in the 2016 Presidential

Election Petition?  That’s a question that only EC itself can answer.

This was probably the first electoral test to the new Justice

Byabakama Commission.  They broke the ice, and they broke it well.

Of course, the Aruu North by-election and the ones to come may not be

elections of a national magnitude – and therefore the dynamics may not

be the same.

Next week, we will head out to Kamuli Municipality for the MP

by-election.  Will the EC keep this steam? Ugandans will be waiting

with bated breath!