Voting system which brings hatred, segregation shouldn’t be allowed, says Bunyoro opposition

Opposition leaders in Bunyoro sub-region have punched blows in the proposed government idea to use a physical lining up system during the voting of the local council leaders scheduled for this month.

This comes at a time when the government plans to conduct LC1, LC2 and women council elections before the president is sworn in May for another political term.

In preparation to this, the government allocated shs56.9 billion to facilitate the entire process across approximately 70,626 villages countrywide with proposed physical lining systems during the elections.

It is out of this background that the opposition leaders challenge the government against such voting systems which they say can cause hatred and segregations.

The lining up behind candidates’ voting system, opposition leaders say, affects communities and families and leads to voting of incompetent leaders.

Jackson Wabyoona Rugambwa who is the Western region coordinator for Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), said that there is a need for the government to use the standard secret ballot system.

Secret ballots, he says, enables voters to freely choose the correct leaders of their choices without fear.

“There is a need to prioritise the secret ballots system because local council chairpersons insert the highest level of social cohesion to the society,” he empathised.

Any voting system that will cause hatred and segregations among communities should not be allowed in the societies, he argued

“LC1 chairperson elections insert the highest level of cohesion in the society. It is within the local councils where people stay not at the constituency levels. So, local councils matter a lot,” he said.

According to him, most voters are driven by relationships between them and the candidates on physical terms. “We have always had wrong leaders voted for, just because of being relatives,” he noticed

In fact, no one knows the behaviour of a leader like a family member. And if we draw to NRM party primaries, people vote differently during primaries and change during the general elections, Wabyoona continued

Biira Nasser Kiwanuka, the ED of Recreation for Development and Peace Uganda, said that despite the system, voters should always ensure voting for leaders with better manifestos.

“We have always been getting accidental leaders, because of unsupportive systems,” he said.

“Remember, the government and Parliament have extended the tenures of LC1, LC2 and women council since July 2023.”

Recently, while addressing journalists at the National Media Center in Kampala on 24 February, the Minister of Information and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, said that the government has thought it wise to have all the elections at different levels done at once before the president is sworn in.

Jackson Mugenyi Mulindambura, the district councillor Kigorobya sub-county and also NRM publicity secretary, emphasised on the need for communities to exercise their rights to vote for their local leaders.

He said that all national developments are structured from the local leadership.

According to him, local chairpersons are of a greater importance than the national head and physical lining systems help communities to choose credible leaders for better development.

Sozim Okumu, one of the LC1 chairpersons in Hoima district welcomed the government’s proposal for a physical line up system, urging communities to exercise their rights of voting their leaders.

What voters say

Gilbert Musinguzi, a resident of Kasingo cell in Hoima City wonders what the budget allocated for the entire elections will be used for if the secret ballots system cannot be used.

Robert Mukonyezi from Kabale sub-county said that there is a need for the government to take effective intervention to mobilise communities by conducting voters’ education to ensure high turn up during the elections despite the physical line system.

Musinguzi from Kakumiro wonders why the government could prioritise physical line up systems to secret ballots given the allocated budget.

“Why should the government have a physical line up system and there is a budget allocated to facilitate the election activities. So, what will that money be used for?” Musinguzi asked.