Ballot papers for 2021 elections arrived in the country in late December 2020
Uganda’s Electoral Commission has spoken out on concerns of various stakeholders about the condition of some polling kits which have been delivered to districts with broken seals.
“The Electoral Commission has established that seals on some of the polling kits broke during the transportation from the Commission’s main warehouse in Kampala to the respective district facilities.
The breakage is a result of impact of stacked metal boxes sealed with plastic seals, pressing against each other, during transportation,” Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi , Chairperson, Electoral Commission, said in a statement.
Below is EC’s full statement on broken seals;
Electoral Commission has noted the concerns of various stakeholders about the condition of some polling kits which have been delivered to districts with broken seals.
The Electoral Commission has noted the concerns of various stakeholders about the condition of some polling kits which have been delivered to districts with broken seals.
The Electoral Commission has established that seals on some of the polling kits broke during the transportation from the Commission’s main warehouse in Kampala to the respective district facilities.
The breakage is a result of impact of stacked metal boxes sealed with plastic seals, pressing against each other, during transportation.
As a measure to ensure integrity and transparency of the process, stakeholders in the respective districts are briefed before the offloading begins. Any box that is found with a broken seal gets a replacement, and the serial numbers of both the old and the new seals are recorded. This is done after ascertaining that the contents of the polling kit are all intact.
*For avoidance of doubt, the polling kit includes the following items* :
a.Two (2) spare seals to take care of emergency (breakage) during transportation;
b.Ballot Papers (sealed);
c.Declaration Results Forms (sealed);
d. Polling Register (National Voters’ Register for the respective Polling Stations);
e. Generic Polling Forms which include Accountability of Ballot Papers, Official Report Book, among others;
f. Generic materials such as the ink pad, indelible ink, pens, among others.
The Commission assures all stakeholders that the polling kit remains sealed up to the time of delivery at the polling station where the Presiding Officer will open it, on the morning of polling day, and in the presence of ten (10) registered voters at the respective polling station.
Political parties and candidates are urged to appoint agents to observe the safe custody of the polling kit, until the same is delivered to the respective polling stations on polling day.
Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, Chairperson, Electoral Commission
