The Electoral Commission secretary Sam Rwakoojo has reassured stakeholders the commission’s commitment in organizing a democratic electoral process in 2021.
Rwakoojo made the remarks on Wednesday at Speke Hotel Munyonyo on a two- day symposium about Strengthening the Electoral Process in Uganda.
The summit was attending by several dignitaries from Uganda, East Africa and UNDP officials.
In his speech Rwakoojo said, “he Symposium is organized as a follow-up event in commemoration of the International Day of Democracy (IDD), which was marked on 15th September 2019. I wish to extend our gratitude to UNDP for the support in organizing this Symposium, which has brought together various stakeholders in the democracy and governance sector. We are here to reflect on strengthening electoral democracy in Uganda, to which we attach great important, given the central role of democratic elections in the governance of nations.”
He added: “This Symposium has been designed to provide a highly interactive and cordial learning environment, and features a line up of more than a dozen experts in the field of elections, governance, security, media, planning and research. The solution-oriented presentations, discussions questions and case studies are designed to achieve a key learning objective, that is, to draw lessons from other countries on various aspects including challenges and opportunities aimed at achieving peaceful, transparent and credible electoral process.”
He said the the cornerstone to any democratic system is the conduct of regular free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections at all levels of governance.
“Accordingly, the Electoral Commission (EC) was established under Article 60 (Constitution, 1995) and mandated (Article 61) to organize, conduct and supervise regular free and fair elections and referenda in Uganda. Since its establishment by the Constitution, the Commission has successfully organized and conducted five general elections (1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016) as well as two referenda on political systems (2000 and 2005), and several Parliamentary and Local Government Councils elections and by-elections. The Electoral Commission has already commenced on preparations for the 2020/2021 General Elections.”
“EC has been able to organize and conduct all the above electoral exercises, and the ongoing Roadmap for 2020/2021, with the support and participation of various stakeholders, many of whom are now gathered here. On behalf of the Electoral Commission, I extend our appreciation to all our stakeholders, who include, among others, the Government of Uganda, development partners and the international community, security agencies, non-governmental and civil society organisations, political parties and organisations, the business community, religious leaders and organisations, and the media.”
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has particularly been a dedicated partner in the effort to improve delivery of electoral services.
