Millions of Ugandans braved cold weather and heavy rains
Thursday to cast their votes in the country's first multiparty
elections in 20 years, choosing a parliament and a president from
five candidates, while the contest is thought to be between the
incumbent President Yoweri Museveni and main challenger Kizza
Besigye.
In the capital Kampala, voters lined in the cool and drippy
weather to cast their ballots at polling stations, which opened by
7:00 AM (04:00 GMT) and closed at 5:00 PM (14:00 GMT) as arranged
by Uganda's Electoral Commission, although a few polling stations
didn't start to operate until at around 10:00 AM due to delays in
the delivery of election materials.
In the afternoon, heavy rains in some parts of Uganda have
disrupted the voting exercise for almost an hour. However, at
Kampala's Community Flats polling station, voters didn't seemed to
care too much about the downpour.
"I am really happy I can exercised my constitutional mandate of
choosing the leader under a multi-party system," said Kamya George,
standing under the eave of a flat while a cool drizzle turns
rapidly to a drenching shower.
George, along with several dozens of voters, chose to stick
around at the Community Flats polling station up to the closing
time to witness the ballots counting procedure.
According to the Election Community, an estimated 10 million
voters turned up to vote on Thursday to elect a president and 284
MPs in the first multiparty presidential and parliamentary
elections since political parties were banned in Uganda 20 years
ago.
In the polling station of Ugandan Management Institute, 440
voters turned out to cast ballots compared to the 719 registered,
while in another polling station in the community flats, a 63
percentage turnout was counted.
The government has already declared Thursday a public holiday
and security has been tightened to ensure a smooth and peaceful
election.
About 40,000 local and international observers -- including
those from the African Union, the European Union and the
Commonwealth -- were around the country to monitor Thursday's
elections.
A total of five candidates contested in the presidential
election. Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni is favorite to win
the ballot, according to a recent poll that gave him 50 percent of
votes compared to 33 percent for his main challenger Kizza Besigye
of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.
The others are Mayor of Kampala John Ssebaana Kizito of the
Democratic Party, Miria Kalule Obote of the Uganda People's
Congress, and independent candidate Abed Bwanika.
President Yoweri Museveni is running for re-election to extend
his 20 years in power after parliament voted last year to scrap
term limits that would have ended his presidency.
Besigye, 49, Museveni's former doctor and one-time ally, enjoyed
a solid support among the young and in cities. Last week, the
Ugandan High Court adjourned his treason trial until after the
presidential elections while the military court also dropped his
trial, giving a boost to the challenger's campaign.
Richard Shibaale, a Kampala resident who stood first in the line
to cast his ballot at a polling station of community flats, said he
voted for Kizza Besigye, because "we want a change."
Grace Abiong, a tailor whose husband is a policeman, also said
at the nearby Uganda Management Institute polling station that she
had also chosen Besigye. "I found life is getting difficult these
years. So I hope this man can listen to our problems," she
said.
But an IT professional who only identified himself as Edgar,
made a different choice. "I still chose Museveni. Changes are
needed, but not on the candidates. We can work with the incumbent
to change our country."
The relative peace of the election has so far surprised many who
feared a return to violence after Museveni's main rival in the
election, Kizza Besigye, was charged with treason and rape in
November.
?
However, there were still several incidents reported around the
east African country as some international institutes have
feared.
At least seven people, all supporters of the opposition Forum
for Democratic Changes (FDC) party, have been arrested in eastern
Uganda for "violating" Thursday's general elections, the district
Police commander Chris Barugahare was quoted by the Uganda state
radio as saying.
Also, in the war-ravaged north, a fighter with the Lord's
Resistance Army rebels who attempted to attack a vehicle carrying
voting materials was shot dead at the scene by the Ugandan army on
the election day.
Multiparty politics was banned in Uganda almost 20 years ago
following the government's concern that they were creating
divisions among Ugandans. Political parties were only allowed to
operate in abeyance.
But a referendum held on July 28, 2005 voted for the return of
multiparty politics. The country's Movement system of government
will end after Thursday's elections.
According to the EC, the outcome of votes counting is expected
on Saturday.
(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2006)
