The Electoral Commissions finds itself in the middle of organizing the July 10 local council one election, where polling is controversially by lining up behind the candidate or his or her portrait.

In an interview with Moses Talemwa, Commission Chairperson SIMON BYABAKAMA MUGENYI opens up about the challenges ahead and his resolve to always announce the right result without fear or favour to any side.

Since your appointment, how have you handled the public perception that the commission is doing the ruling NRM’s bidding in elections?

Perception is an issue I found on the table. The commission has been engaging various stakeholders [various political parties], through interactive meetings and consultations.

I sit on the National Consultative Forum, which is a body that brings together political parties at a roundtable to discuss issues that concern their operations in relation to elections.

So, our take as a new commission is that the only way you can deal with perception is through direct engagement, transparency and openness …show the people why you do things the way you do them – and the defining factor is the law.

We have endeavored to show the people and stakeholders that we act within the law; what the law commands us to do, is what we do without fear or favor. 

You have already managed a few by-elections since your appointment. How do you think you are now perceived by political parties?

I think that given what we have been able to do so far, there is a shift in the perceptions of the people about the roles of the Electoral Commission and whether it can be trusted to deliver a free and fair election.

Remember Kyadondo East was a hotly contested by-election, the same with Rukungiri, and Jinja Municipality East. What gives me the confidence to say that I think we have done a commendable job, in the parameters of the law, is the fact that apart from the Jinja Municipality East by-election where the losing NRM candidate went to court, we have not had any other court proceedings or petitions challenging the outcome of the by-elections.

Even for Jinja Municipality East, the petitioner; who was the NRM candidate, is challenging the FDC winner, and not the Electoral Commission…we are not a party to that petition. This implies, therefore, that the petitioner found no complaints with the way we organized the election.

Relatedly, some people are concerned with the intensive police and army presence at these by-elections. Do you find their presence in the polls healthy?

I can say that we need security in order to conduct a credible election and the law allows us to work hand in hand with police to provide security.

However, in my honest view, the level of involvement of security during elections is largely determined by the people in that electoral area. In Rukungiri, when we announced that we were going to have elections, everybody said we should expect violence. Then, we went there and appealed to the people.

We had consultative meetings with various stakeholders and appealed to the people of Rukungiri to behave in a civil, calm, [and] law-abiding manner. Once the people are calm, security becomes irrelevant and the campaign went on smoothly.

I give my commendation to the people of Rukungiri for having heeded our call to behave in a lawful manner. Therefore, security is not there to intimidate the voters. Their work is to ensure that there is law and order and to create an enabling atmosphere for the law-abiding voters to cast their vote.

You are preparing for LC polls across the country. What are the main teething challenges in arranging for those elections?

We are set as the electoral commission. Polling is by lining up behind the candidate, or the portrait of the candidate or the symbol of the political party and we believe it will go well. The main sticking point is that these elections have taken so long without happening.

The main challenge we have encountered is in places where some administrative units of the villages are not known or recognized in law. Remember the ultimate authority to create/ declare an area a unit or a local village is in the ministry of Local Government.

But in some areas, this has not been done and you find the local people know that we have these villages here but in law, those places don’t exist. And yet it is not the work of the Electoral Commission to create administrative units. 

What about the fear of insecurity caused by the mode of voting?

The methodology of [voting] in these elections has been a bone of contention among various voters. We have been telling the people that this is what the law provides and that law was passed by parliament.

I think people have got to know what democracy entails, that a husband or wife, have a free will to choose a leader of their choice. And we want to appeal to them to respect one another’s choice, be it between spouses, children and parents and so on.

In future, is there a possibility of the LC-1 elections being conducted by secret ballot and being less costly?

Well, we are testing the situation now. We will only make that assessment after the LC elections.

In Tororo, the LC-V election has delayed. Will we have that election?

It is unfortunate the LC-V polls in Tororo have remained outstanding for a while. We endeavored to hold the elections, but there was resistance from people on the ground, who want certain political issues sorted out.

So, some people have said that until our issues are sorted out, we are not going to allow [LC polls in the area]. We are not discriminating against anyone or a particular area of the country; it is our mandate to go to any part of the country and conduct elections but the ground must be clear for us.

Talk to us about Sheema municipality, where a minister is standing for MP yet he still holds another seat. Why did you nominate him yet he has not resigned his other seat?  Is that even legal?

Before that happened, we were consulted about that possibility. We looked at the law and it is very loud and clear on public servants or civil servants, who want to run for membership of parliament, and so on and so forth. They have to resign at least 90 days before nomination or 14 days before the by-elections.

When it comes to a sitting member of parliament or minister intending to represent another constituency, from the one he holds –in the event that particular candidate wins in Sheema, he will have to relinquish the other seat.

And if he loses, he stays in his current position?

Oh, yes.

At the start of your mandate as a chairperson you had plans for the future. Where would you like to take the Electoral Commission?

I want to create an Electoral Commission that has the trust and confidence of the people of Uganda, when it comes to the important task of choosing leaders. I want the people of Uganda to believe in their commission.

When the people believe in their commission, there are several benefits; the people find it easy to cooperate with the electoral commission; they will embrace the Electoral Commission programmes; [and] they will take it upon themselves to act within the law during elections.

But how will you achieve that?

We want the people to realise that the commission is working in the interest of the people of Uganda. Whenever we go out there and meet stakeholders, they ask me, but are you really going to announce the results [if they don’t agree with particular perceptions] – and I say yes.

I always assure them that, what you have decided at the polling station is what I’m going to declare at the tally centre.

Any lessons from your previous engagements?

Well, one can’t be complacent. Each election has its own peculiar challenges. Therefore, the Electoral Commission is always going to have its act to make sure that you don’t take anything for granted.

Secondly, I have seen the benefit in engaging with the public. I think part of the problem is that people were not fully appreciating what the Electoral Commission does.

Thirdly, we need to go out to the people more, hear from them, but also explain the benefit of operating within the law. For instance, bribery, of about Shs 50,000 may be between two parties and that can cause a result to be cancelled, leading to a by-election costing up to Shs 400m to the taxpayer.