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Why the Electoral Commission has failed the impartiality test
On September 24, NTV’s On the Spot presenter, Patrick Kamara, hosted the chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Justice Simon Byabakama, to ask him pertinent questions about the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
Mr Byabakama and his commissioners are the centre of attraction as the countdown to the elections continues. They are responsible for not just organising elections, but they are also expected to make sure the elections are free and fair.
Can they do that? The short answer is a ringing, undeniable no. The way the EC is constituted undermines its independence. Yes, the chairman and his commissioners are vetted by Parliament, but they owe allegiance to candidate Museveni, who hires and fires. In August 2018, for example, he threatened to fire them after his ruling NRM lost by-elections.
Mr Byabakama and his commissioners are not acting independently, as they should, and this was abundantly clear from the way he responded to some questions on the show.
For example, Mr Kamara, the host, asked Mr Byabakama whether he would release President Museveni’s academic credentials, following a formal request by a Kampala lawyer named Nkunyingi Muwada, but the chairperson gave a long-winded and vague answer—a tell-tale sign of wanting to be economical with the truth.
Although he finally confirmed that Mr Museveni’s academic credentials would be released, his prevarication strongly suggested that he cannot act freely and independently, especially where the President is concerned.
It is imperative to point out that the lawyer who wants the President’s academic credentials to be seen by voters is acting in good faith, in public interest and is not trying to make Mr Byabakama’s life difficult.
Mr Muwada is taking advantage of the Access to Information Act, which allows any Ugandan to have access to information and records in possession of government ministries, agencies, commissions and departments—and was enacted to “promote an efficient, effective, transparent and accountable government”.
The EC took only days to release the academic credentials of Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi Wine, when lawyer Male Mabirizi asked for them. Therefore, Mr Muwada and many Ugandans are wondering why it is taking long to do the same in the case of Mr Museveni.
Mr Museveni’s academic credentials do not fall under the exceptions the Access to Information Act makes when it comes to the release of information and records.
The first is information that is likely to threaten the security or sovereignty of the State or interfere with the right to the privacy of any person—and the second is Cabinet records and records of court proceedings before the conclusion of a case.
It is surprising that the academic credentials of a president Wikipedia says attended Kyamate Elementary School, Mbarara High School and Ntare School before joining the University of Dar es Salaam in 1967 appear to be a difficult issue to handle by the EC.
It is also surprising that Mr Byabakama tried (unsuccessfully) to give the impression that the EC has good reasons for the delay in releasing the President’s academic credentials, yet the Act makes it clear that a person’s right of access is not affected by any reason they give for requesting information.
The EC has no compelling reasons for dilly-dallying or shilly-shallying. And this brings me to perhaps the most important question we need to ask: If the EC is dilly-dallying about a small matter that has nothing to do with the outcome of the election, can it really declare a winner who is not Mr Museveni?
Over to you, Mr Byabakama.
Mr Namiti is a journalist and former
Al Jazeera digital editor in charge of the Africa desk
[email protected] @kazbuk
