R 100551Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0846
INFO RWANDA COLLECTIVE
IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KAMPALA 001470 
 
 
DEPT PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM UG
SUBJECT:  USG-SPONSORED DEBATE STARTS DIALOGUE ON UGANDA'S 2011 
ELECTIONS 
 
¶1. Summary:  Ruling party Secretary General Amama Mbabazi and 
Opposition Leader in Parliament Morris Latigo participated in a 
debate on challenges to the electoral system in Uganda on October 
¶30.  U.S. Mission Kampala, capitalizing on interest in U.S. 
elections, partnered with a local think tank to sponsor the debate 
to encourage dialogue on electoral reform in Uganda.  In what was a 
lively discussion, participants exchanged views on the government's 
failure to institutionalize the Supreme Court's electoral reform 
recommendations following the 2006 elections, public financing for 
political parties, the independence of the Electoral Commission, and 
the democratization process.  The debate was well received, with 
members of Parliament, civil society, academia, and the development 
and diplomatic community in attendance.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Electoral Commission Independence 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. A local think tank, backed by U.S. Mission public diplomacy 
funding, hosted a debate on "Challenges to the Electoral Systems in 
Africa" on October 30.  The discussion focused on three issues: 
Electoral Commission (EC) independence, electoral reform, and 
campaign finance.  Opposition Leader in Parliament Morris Ogenga 
Latigo opened the debate with an appeal to Africans to "stop 
deceiving themselves that the African environment somehow required a 
different set of rules to achieve democracy."  He said that the 
fundamentals for democracy were very clear and that reforms are 
meaningless unless politics change.  Latigo suggested that there was 
a need to "change the mindset" of African leaders who cling to power 
under the notion that it is only they who can govern.  Turning to 
Uganda specifically, he said that the Electoral Commission (EC) did 
not deliver free and fair elections in 2001 or 2006, and that the 
Supreme Court rulings confirmed this.  The Supreme Court ruling 
cited fundamental problems in the 2006 elections which included 
involvement of the security forces in elections, intimidation, 
violence, lack of voter education, partisan conduct of electoral 
officials, and disenfranchisement of voters.  He stressed the need 
to reconstitute the EC to include representation from the opposition 
and said that the body should be free of state intervention. 
 
¶3. Security Minister and National Resistance Movement (NRM) 
Secretary General Amama Mbabazi acknowledged Latigo's concerns that 
additional reforms were needed to address electoral irregularities 
that occurred in 2006, but disagreed that the EC itself required 
reform.  He said that the EC had made considerable progress towards 
ensuring free and fair elections.  Mbabazi rejected the idea of 
establishing a multiparty EC, arguing that the "integrity and 
independence" of the electoral body was more important than the 
political leanings of its members.  He cited the appointment of High 
Court Justice Joseph Mulenga, a former Chairman of the Democratic 
Party (DP), and Supreme Court Judge George Kanyeihamba, an NRM 
member, as examples of individuals with dissenting philosophies who 
performed their professional duties.  Justice Kanyeihamba, who was 
seated in the audience, used Mbabazi's opening to express his 
concern over the government's failure to act on the Supreme Court 
recommendations for electoral reform. 
 
-------------------------- 
Areas for Electoral Reform 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. Latigo argued that a number of changes are needed in the 
electoral process and that the EC should draw lessons from Rwanda. 
He explained that in Rwanda, electoral officials set up polling 
stations in schools or open places as opposed to Uganda, where some 
stations are located in isolated bush areas where it is difficult to 
verify that proper procedures are followed.  He urged the EC to 
establish a delivery schedule for election materials to avoid 
confusion at polling centers on election day.  Mbabazi again noted 
Latigo's concerns, but reminded him that considerable progress 
towards improving the electoral system had been made under the NRM 
government.  He said that the government had, for example, 
established preset election dates and times, instituted a more 
secure ballot box, changed the ballot counting process, and passed 
electoral provisions allowing 90 days for any dispute to be resolved 
before the swearing in of the President.  Mbabazi said that the EC 
was working on legal amendments to take into account the Supreme 
Court's recommendations.  However, he reminded Latigo that "just 
because the government does not accept your proposal does not mean 
that it did not weigh it appropriately."  On presidential term 
limits, Mbabazi said limiting the President to two terms was 
"undemocratic" and African democracies were "too immature" to handle 
frequent, sometimes violent elections. 
 
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Campaign Financing Necessary 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. Mbabazi acknowledged that campaign financing was critical in the 
electoral process.  He said the state should fund all candidates and 
the law should limit foreign resources to avoid external 
interference or undue influence.  Latigo expressed concerned that 
the current government could not or would not fund opposition 
political parties fairly.  He challenged the government to reveal 
the NRM's accountability on the 2006 election.  He noted that the 
FDC accounted for funds it used in the 2006 elections, but the NRM 
party had not.   He said the bill on campaign financing currently 
before Parliament failed to address the issue of accountability. 
Latigo supported the idea of foreign funding of political parties 
and agreed that the parties must be transparent and accountable 
about sources of funding. 
 
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Other Issues of Concern 
----------------------- 
 
¶6. Latigo criticized the military's role in the electoral process 
and said that army representatives in Parliament "always side with 
the NRM party" and should be removed, calling their presence 
undemocratic.  Audience members during the question and answer 
portion of the debate pressed Mbabazi on late enactment of electoral 
laws and subsequent late release of electoral funding in previous 
elections.  They accused the government of restricting the 
opposition's ability to use public media for debate on political 
issues and curtailing public assembly rights.  Mbabazi responded 
that there had been much more political freedom and expansion of the 
independent media under the NRM.  One participant called for 
proportional representation to reduce the size of parliament. 
 
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Comment 
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¶7. We were pleased with the tone of the discussion set by Mbabazi 
and Latigo.  They focused on the topics of debate, presented their 
points of view, and provided strong counterpoints.  The discussion 
helped achieve several of post's objectives.  First, public 
discussion of the modalities of Uganda's elections in order to 
enable a free and fair poll is critical to get buy-in from all 
parties.  Second, the neutral venue allowed potentially charged 
political issues to be discussed with the public in a non-political 
venue.  Third, if continued, these discussions could help foster a 
tone that, if maintained into the elections, may allow electoral 
issues to be resolved in a non-violent manner.  Finally,Qhe public 
discussion hopefully will jumpstart government preparations for the 
next elections, which according to many observers need to start now 
to ensure a credible poll in 2011.  We are getting requests to 
support additional debates in hopes of maintaining momentum for 
dialogue on issues of national interest. 
 
BROWNING