All elections should be held on the same day

On October 8, 1995, Uganda promulgated a brand new Constitution. The first general election under the new constitution was held in 1996.

The presidential elections were conducted on May 9, and the parliamentary elections were held on June 27. The elections for local councils were held in 1997. In 1996, I only voted in the presidential elections. I had been “dragged” from Goma (Eastern DRC), where I had been on a small assignment in the service of the people of Rwanda and the Great Lakes region.

I was advised to go to Uganda to vote. Before that, Ugandans living in Rwanda (and Banyarwanda returnees from Uganda who still held Ugandan citizenship) had been advised to go to Uganda to register for elections. Me being me, I still filed a story for The Monitor (as Daily Monitor then was) whose headline was: “Kigali casts wary eye on Uganda's Elections”. During the Constituent Assembly elections, I had voted at the Young Women's Christian Association on George Street in Kampala. For the 1996 General Election, I changed my polling station to Rwenzori Square in Kasese Town.

As I said earlier, I only participated in the presidential elections. I was unable to vote during the parliamentary and local council elections. I had to go back to my station in Rwanda. The questions to ask then are: Don't you think there are many people who only voted in the presidential and parliamentary elections in the recent elections? Why do you think the voter turnout for presidential and parliamentary elections is always different from the voter turnout for local councils? Is there a remedy for this voter discrepancy?

Dear Ugandans of goodwill, I would like to make a suggestion: All elections should be held on the same day! Yes, all elections. President, Member of Parliament, district chairperson and city mayor (and their councils), Municipal, Division and Sub-county councils. Some Ugandans may say the logistical and human resource management costs would be overwhelming. But then, the financial and psychological cost on the candidates in the local council elections would cancel that out. Plus, the human resource needs would feed into the need for employment.

I have a personal story about the recent elections. After the electoral loss of my friend Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda in Kiira Municipality, I knew that alone would have an effect on the elections of the Lord Mayor of Kampala City. My intention was not to vote in the local councils. But after Ssemujju's loss, I knew Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago needed every vote in Kampala. Even in my poor health, I did the most patriotic act: left Kiburara to vote for Erias Lukwago in Kampala City. We still lost, though.

I have a very strong feeling that if the elections for the Lord Mayor of Kampala were held on the same day with the presidential and parliamentary election, there was a big chance Erias Lukwago would win. If my memory still serves right, it is Winnie Byanyima (then Member of Parliament for Mbarara Municipality) who proposed that presidential and parliamentary elections be held on the same day. I am not sure, but I think this was after the 1996 presidential elections.

After being elected, Mr Museveni went on another country tour campaigning for MPs that were associated with NRM. Or to put it another way, he went around the country to de-campaign parliamentary candidates who were viewed as multipartists On that note, I ask Members of Parliament elect to seriously look into this matter: All elections should be held on the same day.