The Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) said that the proposal to extend government’s term of office and inadvertently postpone the 2016 elections is an absolute hoodwink to the people of Uganda.
The Coordinator CCEDU Crispy Kaheru said that reasons advanced including, buying time to review the constitution, conduct a national census and work on the national ID process are important but too simplistic to warrant an extension of government. In many of our neighboring countries where extensive constitutional review processes have been undertaken for instance, they have not lasted beyond 18 months.
Kaheru said that In Zambia for instance, the Patriotic Front government embarked on making a new constitution in 2012 (note: note reviewing but making a ‘new Constitution’), by mid 2013, the process was complete. Tanzania has been undertaking a Constitutional review process over the last one and a half years. The constitutional review/making process in Tanzania just like in Zambia has not interrupted the electoral cycle – for instance Tanzania will still hold its elections next year – 2015 as stipulated in their Constitution; which has undergone extensive review.

He said that excuse that government does not have funds to fund multiple national projects at the same time (because donors have pulled out) is also subject to a lot of suspicion. Many times government has openly told Ugandans that donor support is negligible and that over 70% of the national budget is self funded. I am not sure whether government all along has been planning to cover costs of conducting a census, national registration and the 2016 elections from donor funds.

He added that Ugandans should treat the proposal (and proposer) for extension of the government term/postponement of the constitutionally provided for 2016 elections (with the attendant reasons advanced) with contempt and symbolic of disregard of the supreme law of the land.

He further stressed that Whereas Ugandans would appreciate extensively undertaking important exercises such as: a national census, making amendments to the Constitution, a national registration process this must not warrant moving the 2016 elections to years later.