Catholic Bishops urge Government to be Diligent, Fair with 2016 Elections

by Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

Electoral Commission Chairman engineer Badru Kiggundu has an uphill task of organising credible elections more so after the public lost trust in him.

In their Pastoral Letter on the 2016 General Elections, the Catholic Bishops of Uganda have urged government to shoulder its responsibility of promoting democratic governance in the country. The Bishops’ appeal comes on the heels of the fast approaching presidential and parliamentary elections slated for February 18, 2016.

The Bishops take note of the growing suspicion regarding the conduct of the forthcoming elections, pointing out key concerns like the conduct of Police, the Electoral Commission, vote-rigging, intimidation and bribing of the electorate.

“All organs of government should perform their duties with utmost diligence and fairness, and ensure no public resources and powers are misused to the detriment of other players and our country’s development.

“Further more, we ask government to allay the fears of the population regarding Crime Preventers and other pseudo-security agencies. The public needs to know the criteria for recruiting them, their mandate under the various laws and the role they will play during and after the 2016 elections.”

Crime Preventers were recruited and hastily trained by Police but the general public maintains that these are the ruling party’s cadres whose sole aim is to help rig elections, intimidate the electorate and cause violence.

Earlier, there was another paramilitary group popularly referred to as the kibooko squad that has been operating with the Police. The kibooko squad has been oppressing the Opposition members and other government critics.

“It seems that the role of such groups is not clear to the public. Even more confusing is the fact that the groups operate under a registered Non- Government Organisation aligned to the Police Force, called National Crime Preventers Platform. We are afraid if this trend continues, it could give way to violence during and beyond the 2016 elections.”

Police is not only accused of using excessive power but also usurping powers that belong to other organisations. There is fear that all these could be calculated to undermine the conducting of the election process in a credible and transparent manner.

“The acrimonious passing of the Public Order Management Act in 2012, which effectively gave powers to the Inspector General of Police to regulate public assembly, has cast the Force in bad faith.

“For the reason that the law does not provide a clear distinction between “authorizing” (Article 3) and “granting permission,” interventions by Police in peaceful assemblies has been greeted with great suspicion and anger, and interpreted as outright interference with the right to assemble which is enshrined in chapter 4 of our national constitution.”

The Bishops further point out Police’s conduct which has led many to conclude that the Force is only working to protect and promote the interests of the ruling party. This too undermines the credibility of the organisation as well as that of the election process.

“The indiscriminate use of force and preventive interventions in Opposition political activities has particularly created an impression of a Police Force determined to protect and promote the agenda of the ruling party. This kind of perception coming from the very people for whom the Police Force exists is unfortunate. It calls for demonstration of impartiality and maximum restraint on the part of Police in the face of current heightened political environment.”

One such incidence is the barring of presidential candidates, from the Opposition, from visiting hospitals. Police took to cordoning off the hospitals after presidential candidate Kizza Besigye visited Abim district Hospital and the nurses took him around, exposing the dire state of the facility right in front of the media.

It is shameful for a government that has been in power for thirty years to fail to fix the health system but it is not the duty of a Police Force, maintaining law and order, to cover up the rot. Under a democratic dispensation, exposing such failures is one way of reminding the leaders to get the problem fixed.

The Bishops also make strong criticism of those intolerant of other people’s views. They point out that although politics, by its nature, may breed conflict there is no justification whatsoever for individuals or groups preventing others from freely exercising their political rights.

“In our view, intolerance is driven by lack of confidence in oneself, greed and conformist mindset which has no place in civilized political system.

“We wish to reiterate the fact that opposition, whether within or outside a political party, is an essential aspect of political reality that has basis in our diverse and individualised existence as humans, itself a divine design. Intolerance and suppression of persons who are different only negate this very inevitable truth, hence is immoral.”

The Bishops’ Pastoral Letter: Free and Fair Elections; Our common Mission to Consolidating Democratic gains in Uganda, aims at ensuring that the forth coming elections are free and fair. Above all, the elections should not be the reason for disrupting peace in the country. All stakeholders, government in particular, should play their roles in order to protect and promote the common good.

“For close to a decade now, there have been calls from different actors for comprehensive reforms of the electoral system in a bid to make it more credible, free and fair. Unfortunately, each time attempts are made to effect such reforms, political and personal considerations tend to override the common good.

“On many occasions, views of minority groups and the wider public have been ignored. Yet, again, history comes with some important lessons for us. Bad elections anywhere can be a recipe for political crisis. This was the case in Uganda in 1980 which we must work hard to avoid.”

Urging the voters to turn up in big numbers, the Catholic Bishops also remind them to vote for people who have qualities of humility, love and respect. The Bishops further remind the voters to elect people who demonstrate commitment to the country’s common aspirations of restoring the country to the divine path and a life of respect and dignity.

“There can be no meaningful election without full participation of citizens. The citizenry in our case is empowered by Article 1 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, which vests power in the people.

“We therefore, appeal to the citizens of our country to cultivate a strong interest in the forth coming elections and urge the State to provide an enabling environment for the citizens to exercise their right to freely assemble and choose their leaders.”

Commending all those who have offered themselves for leadership roles, the Bishops urge them to cultivate a sense of dependence on God and allow themselves to be guided by Him in their journeys to leadership. The candidates, at the different levels of leadership, have also been urged to exercise the highest moral standards, a high sense of responsibility in the way they use their words ensuring they do not arouse hatred and violence.

“If you have a good manifesto that addresses the real needs of the electorate they will cast their votes for you. Vote rigging and intimidation manifest a high sense of greed and disrespect for voters. It shows that you cannot be trusted in both small and big things.”

Stressing the importance of leadership and service to others, the Bishops make reference to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church No. 407 and urge the candidates thus: “A servant leader is defined on the basis of the passion he or she demonstrates in spearheading the crusade for the dignity of every human person… commitment to the common good as the purpose and guiding criterion for political life. If there is no general consensus on these values, the deepest meaning of democracy is lost and its stability is compromised.”

The media has been urged to open up their doors to all candidates and to mobilise the electorate to participate actively in all activities leading to the elections. The media is also expected to play its critical role of shaping opinion and decision of the electorate, as well as feeding the public on accurate and researched information and not sensation.