The workshop was organized by the electoral
commission Kabarole district, it was held on 9th/ February 2016 at
St Joseph inn Virika. It was attended by Regional Police Commanders, District
from the 7 districts, Police commanders from 7 districts, political party representatives;
district officials District Resident officer, the CAO, civil society
organizations, press, electoral commission staff and local citizens. The main objective
of workshop was to take the participants through the polling activities for
2016 general elections (how the elections
will take place, what role will police, civil society organizations play, the
role of press and how to have a peaceful general election etc).
“On general
elections will be held in Uganda on 18 February 2016 which is a
national holiday for voting. The elections are to be supervised by the
Electoral commission of Uganda. In the election the voters will vote for the President, Parliament seats and local government seats”. Said Mr Kanzira the head of
electoral commission Kabarole District
 |
| Mr. Kanzira talking to participants during the workshop |
Mr. Kanzira added Chapter 142 of the Presidential
Elections Act of 2000 of Uganda stipulates the following qualifications for a
person to be elected as President:
a) A citizen of Uganda by birth
b) Not less than thirty-five years and not more than
seventy-five years of age
c) A person qualified to be a Member of Parliament. Their
qualifications include:
I) Is a registered voter
II) Has completed a minimum formal education of Advanced
Level standard or its equivalent
Voter Location Slips.
In
accordance with Section 33 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Commission Act (Cap
140), the Commission shall, by notice in the Gazette, appoint a Returning
Officer for each electoral district who shall take steps to inform voters
as early as possible of the particular polling stations at which they are
required to vote and also that the circumstances should be such as to guarantee
orderly voting without confusion.
In
view of the above, the Commission has introduced a Voter Location Slip (VLS)
to inform and guide voters to their respective Polling Stations. The Commission
will, therefore, issue directly to each voter a Voter Location Slip (VLS).
The
VLS will, among others, be used as a first step for identification of voters on
Polling Day. It will be used at four rounds of elections during the General Elections
(2016) namely; at the Presidential/Parliamentary, District Chairpersons’,
Sub-county Chairpersons’ and Municipal Division Chairpersons’ and Councilors
elections.
Who
will be issued a voter location slip (vls)?
“A person
whose particulars appear on the Polling Day register will be issued a VLS. The voters’ register is the primary document
for the purpose of polling. A voter whose name is on the register but is unable
to produce a VLS on Polling Day will be allowed to vote”. Kugonza Enock
electoral commission Kabarole District
Enock added procedure for issuing voter location
slips (VLSS) include. The Parish Supervisors (also known as VLS Issuing Officers) shall be
briefed by, and receive instructions from, their respective District Returning Officers on the VLS
issuance programme. Issuance of VLSs shall be done at the Parish level for a
period of fourteen [14] days; commencing Monday 1st February 2016 and ending Sunday 14th February 2016”.
“No person
shall be allowed to collect or receive a VLS on behalf of another voter. At the end
of each day, all unissued VLSs shall be properly secured in their packs for the
next day’s issuance or retrieval. At the end of the entire exercise, all the
VLSs which will not have been issued MUST
be properly packed and delivered to the Sub-County
supervisor for onward transmission to the returning officer”. Said
Hamidu of electoral commission, Kabarole District
Biometric voter verification system
“The biometric voter verification system, the aim of the system is
to strengthen the identification of voters through biometrics so that no one
votes more than once in particular election. We have trained on how to use the
machine and we have trained other returning officers on how they will use the
machine, we are glad that you have got the opportunity to see this technology
during this workshop”. Said
the technical officer Kabarole District
 |
| The Biometric voter verification system |
The
roles of the supervisors
The
Returning Officer/District Registrar and the Sub-County Supervisor shall
supervise the issuance of the VLSs in the entire district and in the Sub-county
respectively.
The
roles of political party or candidates’ agents and accredited
Observers
- A political party/candidate may
appoint his/her agent(s) to observe the issuance of the VLSs in accordance
with the law.
- Local, National and
International observers that have been duly accredited by the Commission
may observe the issuance of the VLSs exercise in accordance with the
Observers Code of Conduct.
Acts and offenses committed during the issuance of the
VLSS
- Use of violence or threats
against officials, supervisors or the electorate during issuance of the
VLSs is an offence.
- Deliberate disruption or
interference with the work of the issuance of the Voting Location Slips
officials is an offence.
- Any person other than a
designated official acting on behalf of the Returning Officer who directs
or orders the VLS Issuing Officers in the execution of their duties
commits an offense.
- Any VLS Issuance Officer who
attempts to solicit money, gifts or favours from VLS recipients commits an
offence.
- Any person who attempts to lure
a VLS Issuance Officer with money or gifts in order to secure his/her or
another person’s VLS commits an offence.
ToroDev is supporting the electoral commission by giving the
officers platforms on radio to educate voters on how the elections will happen,
the time, the requirements and promoting free and fair election. Torodev is
broadcasting skits carrying civic education on the three sponsored radio
talkshows to encourage people to vote, keep peace and know their rights and
also encouraging women to be part of voting exercise.
For all the skits carrying information on civic
education that are broadcasted on the three radio stations, we are grateful to our donors, NED, SIDA, SPIDER, WOUGNET, ICT4dem , Hits Fm,
KRC, Jubilee FM
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