UWONET Press Statement on the Parliamentary Elections June 14-26, 2001
Today we are proud to announce that 71 women have been successfully elected to parliament. 53 women are going to Parliament through the affirmative action seat, 13 through the directly elected seat, 2 female youth, 2 women for People with disabilities and one woman representing workers. Uganda Womens' Network (UWONET) and Action for Development (ACFODE) participated in the monitoring of the recently concluded parliamentary elections (for the District Woman Representatives and the directly elected Members of Parliament) covering the nominations, campaigns, update and display of the voters' registers and the polling day. UWONET is part of the NGO Election Monitoring Group-Uganda (NEMGroup-U) coordinated by the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC).
UWONET would like to congratulate all the women parliamentarians that have come into the 7th Parliament. The struggle to be elected to Parliament for most women has been an uphill task, where some were politically and physically threatened. Other potential women candidates were coerced to stand down, hence denying them an opportunity to explore their chances of vying for elective political office. However, UWONET would like to commend all those women who amidst all odds contested in the recently concluded elections.
The total number of elected women MPs is 71 (24%) as compared to their male counterparts who are 222 (76%). In the 6th Parliament, there were 52 women (19%) of the 279 Members of Parliament. As women of Uganda we celebrate this drastic increment that has brought in more women to the table where critical national decisions are made.
Category
Female
Male
District Woman Representatives
53
-
Workers' Representatives
1
4
Youth Representatives
2
3
Representatives People with Disabilities
2
3
Directly Elected Representatives
13
202
Army Representatives
-
10
Total
71 (24%)
222 (76%)
Of the 215 directly elected MPs, 6% are women and 94% are men. Compared to the 6th Parliament there has been a 63% increase in the number of women directly elected to the 7th Parliament. In the last parliament there were 8 women parliamentarians elected to it.
Observations made by UWONET
Violence, Intimidation and Influence Peddling
The elections were marred by a lot of violence, intimidation and influence peddling. Reports from Mbarara Municipality, Lira Municipality, Rukungiri District, Mwenge County South and Nakaseke County indicated violence and intimidation targeting female candidates and their supporters by the army and power wielding officials.
The President's direct involvement in campaigns undermined the democratisation process. The electorate's right to choose candidates of their choice was interfered with. This was most eminent in the Districts of Kampala, Lira, Mbarara and Rukungiri.
The role of security agencies in some constituencies contradicted their actual role of keeping peace and order. The presence of security personnel in some constituencies, especially in Mbarara and Rukungiri Districts, during campaigns and on polling day intimidated candidates and their supporters instead of building confidence in the process and the electorate. The role of the police in keeping law and order was greatly down played, hence militarizing the electoral process.
Role of the Electoral Commission
Although the Electoral Commission did a fairly commendable job during the just concluded parliamentary elections, the administration of the elections was characterised by discrepancies such as:
Absence, insufficient and late delivery of election materials to some districts and polling stations. This was a common occurrence especially during elections for the District Woman Representatives. This led to late opening of polling stations.
Insufficient knowledge by Electoral officials about the electoral process limited their capacity to carry out their duties effectively.
The understaffing of electoral officials at polling stations on election day led to inefficiencies of the available staff and left a lot of room for malpractice.
The Electoral College Register
Regulation 5(3) of the Parliamentary Elections District Woman Representative 2001, which states that "any vacancy occurring in any council or committee, which is a constituent part of the electoral college shall not affect the result of the elections". This regulation had a number of weaknesses and was consequently open to manipulation. Because of the nature of the regulation, the electoral commission did not feel compelled to update the register. By election day, the registers in all the districts visited were either not updated or the vacant posts had been filled by mostly parish chiefs without holding elections for the relevant Local Council Representatives.
The seven-(7) days given for the display of the electoral college registers at the parish level as compared to the 21 days for the general register are not sufficient for the exercise to be effectively carried out. Electoral College members had to travel long distances to the parish headquarters to check the registers within the limited time. As a result many voters did not verify their names on the voters' register, leaving room for abuse of the electoral process.
Many people were not aware of the update and display exercise and thus they did not participate. Although the Electoral Commission put public announcements in the media, many people still claimed that they had no knowledge of the exercise.
On the polling day the electoral college registers of all the districts monitored were either handwritten, had names crossed out or erased using white out or had names of some voters appearing more than once.
Campaigns for the District Woman Representatives (DWR)
The campaign organised by the President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the Movement Secretariat, for favoured movement candidates undermined the whole concept of democracy and the people' right to freely choose their parliamentary representatives. Those candidates who were running on individual merit had an uphill task to not only penetrate the Local Council network (Electoral Colleges), but to convince the electorate that they were not against the elected President.
Because the DWR candidate had to traverse the whole district, the time allocated for the campaigns (26 days) was very limited compared to that given to those competing for the direct seat in a constituency (33 days). The limited period worked more in favour of the incumbent than the new comers, who were in most instances not known by the electorate. On the other hand most incumbents had more resources and an existing network within the electoral colleges, which could be easily manipulated in their favour. Some of the members of the Electoral Colleges visited had neither seen the candidates nor understood the issues they represented.
Mode of Elections
The election of DWR through electoral colleges was highly criticised by most people in the districts, including members of the colleges. It was said that the composition of the Electoral Colleges (the Local Council 1-3, and the Women Councils 1-3) does not favour those that are opposed to the Movement System of Government. Hence many people said that once elected the DWR owed their allegiance to the Movement Government and the President in particular, and the Local and Women Councils that elected them.
The DWRs elected through Electoral Colleges were still viewed as inferior representatives to parliament since they were elected by only a handful of people. Because of the number of people on the electoral colleges, it could be easily manipulated.
There was still a misconception that the DWR were women's representatives and thus the need to elect them through universal adult women suffrage. People still needed to internalise the concept of affirmative action and the constituency of the DWR.
Conclusions
UWONET would like to reinforce the position of the NEMGroup to condemn the rampant violence that marred the recent elections and appeal to all Ugandans to be tolerant in process of building a democracy . We similarly condemn the monetarisation of the election process and the endorsement and facilitation of some candidates by the Movement organ.
The Electoral Commission must intensify and perform effectively in its role of imparting civic and voter education, to reduce on the ignorance of the electorate, voter apathy and manipulation of the voters.
Because of the flaws observed above on the electoral college register it raises a lot of questions about its authenticity. UWONET calls upon the Electoral Commission to make adequate preparations for the election of DWR and update and display the voters' register in time.
Parliament should re-consider laws governing the election of the DWR, and make them more democratic and representative.
Democracy has been undermined through the use of money and influence by the powerful. In future the Electoral Commission should be able to use its power to eliminate and discourage any forces promoting intimidation of and violence against candidates and their supporters.