According to the Ambassador, the Electoral Commission only issued 15 accreditation and with that, the United States can’t observe Uganda’s elections.
A few hours to the presidential elections United States (the US) has come out and issued a statement saying that they will not be observing Uganda’s presidential elections.
According to the statement released by the U.S Ambassador to Uganda Natalie E. Brown, she says as diplomatic observers they have decided to withdraw from the observation process because the Electoral Commission failed to accredit more than 75 per cent of U.S. election observer.
According to the Ambassador, the Electoral Commission only issued 15 accreditation and the United States can’t observe Uganda’s elections.
“It is with profound disappointment that I announce U.S. Mission in Uganda’s decision to cancel our diplomatic observation of Uganda’s January 14 elections due to the decision by the Electoral Commission of Uganda to deny more than 75 per cent of U.S. election observer accreditations requested,” the statement read.
“With only 15 accreditations approved, it is not possible for the United States to meaningfully observe the conduct of Uganda’s elections at polling sites across country,” the statement read.
In the statement released the Ambassador explains that the Electoral Commission did not explain its decision to deny them the observation privilege.
She also explains the purpose of the diplomatic observation which includes demonstrating a free, fair, peaceful and inclusive electoral process.
“The purpose of a diplomatic observation of elections is to demonstrate our interest in a free, fair, peaceful and inclusive electoral process. Diplomatic observers are not participants or advisors in the electoral process,” the Ambassador said.
This is one of the elections which the U.S is not going to carry out observation roles but has been actively participating in the previous general elections.
“The government of Uganda has supported such U.S. observer efforts in multiple previous Ugandan elections’. This makes the decision now to deny accreditation to all but a small, randomly selected handful for our observers all the more troubling,” the statement read.
In 2016 elections the U.S. Mission dispatched 88 diplomatic election observers but for tomorrow’s elections the U.S complied with all Electoral Commission accreditation requirements as they had in previous elections in Uganda, but the vast majority of the requests for 2021 was not approved.
The Ambassador also raised concerns over the commission’s decision to deny some civil originations rights to observe the election and according to the ambassador, all civil organizations wrote to the Electoral Commission but have not heard from the Commission.
