ANT PRESS CONFERENCE - PRESS RELEASE

PRESS STATEMENT- February 1, 2021

Fellow Ugandans, the Leadership of ANT wishes to express its sincere gratitude to Citizens of Uganda who turned up in big numbers to exercise their Constitution right to choose their leaders amidst many challenges. The courageous Men and women who chose to contest on the ANT ticket at different levels you made us proud.

In a special way, we would like to thank all those who supported us financially, morally, spiritually and those who voted for ANT flagbearers and other opposition candidates at different levels.

Our hearts go to fellow Ugandans who have been killed, beaten, brutalized and harassed in the course of this election including over 58 Ugandans who were killed in Kampala, Journalists like Ashraf Kasirye.  

ANT wishes to express its dissatisfaction with the general conduct and management of the electoral and voting process as highlighted bellow;   

1.The helplessness/ incompetence/irresponsibility and usurping of the powers of the Electoral Commission

The 2021 General Elections exposed the incompetence of Justice Simon Byabakama and his commission in a number of activities right from the update of the Voters’ Registers throughout the entire process. It was clear that the EC was not acting independently as expected by its mandate.

1. By closing the General update of the National Voters Register (NVR) a year earlier meaning that many eligible voters who were 17 years of age at the time were disenfranchised.
2. The EC ignored the views of stockholders in regard to the nomination and campaign time allotted to presidential candidates which could have accorded them the opportunity to share their views with the entire population.
3. The printing, packaging and transportation of electoral materials was not done in a transparent and participatory manner. In most cases, we received invitations when the process was concluding.

As a result of the above for instance, On Friday last week, EC published the tally sheet. What was so embarrassing is that candidate Museveni scored 100% at 348 polling stations yet the last update of the NVR was done 13 months to the election. It is not possible that no one died, migrated, or even fell sick, or was committed to some other work or had no interest in voting on that day. This is an indictment to the EC. We have also received complaints where individuals were assisted by security agencies to carryout ballot stuffing. This certainly cannot be an election conducted according to the electoral laws of Uganda. We therefore condemn and reject the outcome of this election.

Interference by the regime and security operatives on the campaign programs of we the opposition candidates.

There was expressive harassment and interference like Cancellation of our radio programs and giving us venues at the periphery of towns not only to us but also other opposition presidential candidates.

2.  vote buying and bribery

This election was characterized by massive vote buying and bribery. Ugandans will recall the donations towards fighting covid-19, the loans that were borrowed and huge indebtedness of our country which were not translated to service delivery at all. This money, unfortunately, found its way to vulnerable/very poor Ugandans to sell their rights in most parts of the country through individual bribe, donation and political programs such as emyoga.

You will recall that 31 billion was spent on buying 68,733 yellow bicycles, 20 billion was distributed to villages with each getting 300,000 and  10b for 2148 yellow motorcycles.

 The ANT strongly believes that Ugandans will need to be empowered economically so that they can be liberated from this kind of manipulation.

We want to argue Ugandans to understand the effect of vote buying on service delivery because the spill over effect is going to be manifested in the delayed reopening of schools, absence of drugs in health facilities, the bad roads, the selling of national assets, and heavy national indebtedness.

2. Heavy security interference during the campaign and voting

This has been the trend in all the electoral exercises we have had in this country but it only gets worse as the regime becomes weaker. The Electoral Commission is, by law, expected to be in charge of this process but in actual sense, it is the security playing this lead role.

1. Our economy is incapable of providing decent paying jobs. For fear of losing their only source of livelihood, the security officers are ready to unleash terror on those opposed to the regime to secure their jobs.
2. They used the pretext of Covid-19 to deny opposition the most central areas. They assigned themselves a responsibility of choosing for the candidate which venue to go to and how many campaign venues he/she should have in a district. In Bunyangabu, the DPC told us that they sat in a security meeting and decided that we cannot have meetings in Katebwa and Kibiito. Reasons advanced were laughable (how will the president hear that opposition candidate went to Katebwa where he faught from?). Then in Kamwenge, Kitagwenda, Kasese, Moyo and in many districts where we were forced to go places far away from people.
3. The regime used these security agencies to cause fear in the population. Dictators world over use FEAR to control masses. The harmful propaganda that when Museveni leaves the country will be slide into chaos is spread by these security agencies. How can a country of 45 million people depend on one mortal person?
4. Even on voting day, security was used to protect those stealing elections. At one polling station that I went to, we could not be allowed to access a polling station even after our Agents had been thrown off.
5. In districts like KAZO, KIRUHURA, ISINGIRO, people were told that presidential ballot papers are over. They should vote for MPs. Others found pre-ticked Museveni ballot papers and their responsibility was to drop them in a ballot box. In other areas, they were told to vote from table. In Isingiro, our polling agents were chased away. There was a conspiracy between the security and the regime to rig this election.
6. Some of the Police constables involved in beating of and chasing away agents of opposition candidates (case in Ruhama in Ntungamo) and in some areas, the Military stopped us from accessing polling stations where our agents had been chased (Kahunga Ward, Ntungamo Municipality)
7. In Mpigi, a senior Police officer was caught on camera boxing a presidential candidate. Up to date, we have not heard of any disciplinary action taken against him.

Way forward

1. The Party will support any legal means taken by the friendly opposition forces in challenging the results of the 2021 general elections.
2. Once this electoral cycle is conclusively done, we shall hold meetings between our Party leadership and all our candidates to chat a way forward.
3. We have an election coming on 3/2/2021(This Wednesday) for Town Council and Sub county and division chairpersons and councillors. We call upon Ugandans to support our candidates and those on the side of change.
4. We demand that the government ceases the harassment, ‘preventive arrests” of opposition in Uganda so that we can hold meetings and chat a common way forward for Uganda.
5. We are demanding an immediate release of all people who were arbitrary arrested during this electoral process.
6. We demand that the government disciplines and prosecuted all erratic security officials who killed, injured, harassed, tormented citizens of this country.
7. We demand that Ugandans who were killed, persecuted, injured be expeditiously compensated.