Opposition Presidential Candidates trashes EC letter to Police

By Charles Katabalwa

27^th November 2020

Opposition Presidential candidates have discredited a letter written by the Electoral Commission to the police on the disruption of campaign meetings by security forces.

The different camps of opposition presidential candidates have expressed a total lack of confidence in the Electoral Commission to direct police to halt its harassment and intimidation of presidential candidates.

In a letter on Thursday to the Inspector General of Police Okoth Ochola, the Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama noted that he has received complaints from some presidential candidates and also seen press reports alleging that the police are blocking them from accessing scheduled venues for rallies.

He urged the police to respect the harmonized campaign programme noting that conducting campaigns as per the harmonized electoral programme is a recognized activity as per the presidential elections act and the election road map.

Byabakama called on the police to desist from disrupting a legitimate electoral activity.

However opposition leaders say that the EC chairperson has merely written a communication for the record.

The Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Norbert Mao says Justice Byabakama has only written a tame letter and the police will continue its brutal actions.

Omar Kalinge-Nnyago the Chairman of Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde’s campaign committee says that the letter displays a serious lack of confidence in the independence of the Electoral Commission.

The legal counsel of the National Unity Platform Medard Segona says Byabakama’s letter even provides the police with an escape where the EC boss says candidates have to abide by Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), these SOPs have been left to interpretation by the police meaning that they will continue to do as they please.