Women rights promotion organization, the Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE), has established an election violence watchdog team.

According to the Isis-WICCE, the team will have cluster teams all over the country which will handle or inform relevant authorities about violence related issues.

Addressing the media in Kampala today, the Executive Director Isis-WICCE, Helen Kezie-Nwoha, said that the organisation had trained women and youths from all parts of the country to deal with violence during elections.

She said that the trained groups have the confidence and trust of the people and politicians, to help them reconcile warring sides, and also enable people in communities to solve their differences amicably.

“They are going to be mediators of conflict,” Ms Kezie-Nwoha said. Further, she said, apart from the district and village watchdog monitors, the Isis-WICCE election observers will also handle the minor violence related issues.

According to Ms Kezie-Nwoha, the main watchdog team ‘The Situation Room’ will be at Sheraton Hotel Kampala, and will receive complaints from its teams across the county and then forward them to relevant authorities. The Electoral Commission will also have officials in the room.

“The National Situation Room will handle issues that get out of hand. We will forward the complaint to the EC desk,” Ms Kezie-Nwoha said, adding that prominent women from Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda will join influential Ugandan women at the Sheraton.

Police has not yet confirmed it will join the watchdog team but Ms. Kezie-Nwoha hopes they do.

Meanwhile, Ms Kezie-Nwoha said the organization was in talks with the Uganda Communications Commission to acquire toll free lines, to help those who lack resources to file their violence-related complaints with the watchdog team.

Other rights organisations on the watchdog team include Angie Brooks International Center Liberia, Institute of Social Transformation, Forum For Women in Democracy  (FOWODE), Women’s Democracy Network (WDN), Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET) among others.

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Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) supporters have clashed with police in Bwizi-bwera, Mbarara ahead of Dr Kizza Besigye’s rally in Mbarara Town.

Dr Besigye who has been combing Rwampara county is no heading to Mbarara Municipality for his rally. However, police that has deployed massively on the streets of Mbarara clashed with Francis Mwijukye together with FDC supporters that had become “unruly”.

Funfair at Mbarara 

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A new research carried out by the Women Democracy Group, a secondary body that contains various women activist group, shows that there is increased negativity towards female candidates standing for different political positions in the country.

Speaking at the launch of the second report on Gender and Women’s participation in the 2016 General Elections at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Ms Ritah Aciro, the Executive Director of Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET) highlighted a few findings in the research.

‘’Negative attitudes towards women candidates  still persist for instance, unlike their male counterparts, they are asked about their marital status and questioned why they do not move with their husbands on the campaign trail,” Ms Aciro said.

She added that many voters still believe women should not stand on open seats as they are seen as intruders.

“These challenges are having a greater impact on their access to leadership than male counterparts evident from the number of women nominated for the open seat posts compared to that of the men,” the report states in part.

The report names other hindrances to women’s full participation in Ugandan politics citing heavy burden of work which doesn’t allow women to listen to candidates especially if rallies stretch past 5.00pm since they have to attend to their gender roles hence missing out on critical information especially from candidates who use campaign platforms for voter education. A 2014 study by UWONET shows that women spend 14hours of the day doing care work.

Other hindrances sighted in the report are the constant reports of limited amount of resources to organize rallies, giving an example of presidential candidate Maureen Kyalya, who postponed her campaigns due to lack of funds three weeks into the campaigns.

The media was also mentioned for not giving enough coverage to female candidates in all positions.

Political parties and the electoral commission were also advised to ensure equal participation of women and men in the campaigns by reducing on women candidates nomination fees and allocating them more campaign time.

The report also widely presents key issues in the electoral cycle which include legal framework for campaigns and extent to which women rights are upheld, level of access to resources for women and men candidates and measures by political parties and electoral commission to ensure equal participation of women and men.

The Women Democracy Group is comprised of primary women activist groups like Uganda Women’s Network, Forum For Women Democracy, Women’s Democracy Network,  among others.

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The Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority has denied allegations that the plane carrying ballot papers for the 2016 elections in Uganda, first landed at Kigali International Airport (KIA) and offloaded some ballot papers before proceeding to its final destination, the Entebbe International Airport.

According to Silas Udahemuka, RCAA boss, there are no reports at the KIA of any such activity or recordings of any flight from South Africa enroute Entebbe in the recent past.

‘According to the flight data information by the Air Traffic control Unit at Kigali International Airport, in the past four to five days and earlier, no flight of that nature from South Africa made a stopover or landed at Kigali International Airport and the ground handling department doesn’t have recordings of the alleged flight,’ Udahemuka, said in a statement yesterday.

While receiving the ballot papers at Entebbe last Thursady, January 28 the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) boss Eng Badru Kiggundu, said the Ethiopian Airlines plane that delivered the papers had delayed. He did not give details of the delay, sparking off a social media speculative banter that the plane first landed in Kigali and offloaded some ballot papers before landing at Entebbe.

Meanwhile, Ms Paarl Media of South Africa which printed the ballot papers, the Ethiopian Airlines which transported them and the South African aviation regulator are yet to explain what caused the delay.

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The second batch of ballot papers is arriving later today, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has announced, adding that the printing of the entire package of ballot papers is on course.

According to the IEC, today’s consignment of 361 pallets contains ballot papers for elections of District Chairpersons, District Directly-elected Councillors and Sub County Women Councillors.

The ballot papers for the 2016 general elections were printed in four countries namely: South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and in Uganda, and on January 28 the IEC received the first consignment of 15, 987, 800 ballot papers for the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, which were printed in South Africa by Pearl Media company.

‘The Electoral Commission invites accredited observers, including the media, to witness the receiving of ballot papers at the airport and the other handling stages,’ reads part of a statement issued by the Commission chairman Eng Badru Kiggundu.

Giving an update on the progress of the elections, the IEC boss reiterated the Commission’s position of having a peaceful election.
‘As the campaign period enters into the final days, the Electoral Commission calls on all stakeholders in the electoral process, and particularly the candidates, to promote peace and tolerance and to desist from using any language that may cause fear or create tension in the public,’ Mr Kiggundu said.

Meanwhile, the IEC also took the opportunity to dismiss recent rumours doing the rounds on social media, that the chartered Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying the ballot papers stopped over in Kigali and offloaded some ballot papers.

‘The Electoral Commission however, wishes to dismiss as utterly false, the reports by some sections of the media and particularly social media, which allege that the airplane carrying the ballot papers from South Africa, first made a detour to a neighbouring country, where some ballot papers were off loaded, before coming to Entebbe and delivering the rest of the consignment. This allegation is utterly baseless and false…’ Kiggundu wrote.

According to the IEC boss, the airway bill issued by the Ethiopian Airlines indicates the route followed by the airplane, with the airport of departure as OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa, and the airport of destination as Entebbe International Airport, Uganda.

The IEC boss also peeked into the Biometric Voter Verification System (BVVS), and said demonstrations carried out at the different IEC district offices on January 30, were a success.

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