With fears still rising of intended post-election protests, Ochola has issued a strong warning that they will not allow any dissatisfied candidate to destabilize the country’s peace.
With fears still rising of intended post-election protests, the Inspector General of Police, Martin Okoth Ochola has issued a strong warning that they will not allow any dissatisfied candidate to destabilize the country’s peace.
The 2021 general elections were held successfully in Uganda however, a big section of Ugandans is still not satisfied with the outcomes from the presidential elections.
The Commission on Thursday reaffirmed that NRM’s Museveni won the election scooping up to 6,042898 votes representing 58.38% from 5,851,037 votes (58.64%) that had earlier been announced whereas Kyagulanyi who came second has seen his percentage increase from the initial 34.83(3,475,298 votes) to 35.08% (3631437 votes).
The Commission chairperson also read out that results from 83 polling stations with a total of 54,357 registered voters were not included in the final tally due to allegations of ballot stuffing.
According to NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi who remains optimistic that he won the elections, these results were read out in an unconvincing manner.
Kyagulanyi has since the first announcement of the provisional results begged the EC to also read out the results for every polling station per district for Ugandans to compare with those on the declaration forms.
During his first physical address to the nation following a house arrest, the People Power initiator noted that they have already rejected EC’s results and will do everything possible to challenge them.
He assured his supporters that he will apply all legal and non-violent means to put Museveni out of power in less than one year.
“I want Museveni out of power in less than one year. We shall non-violent but legal means possible. Unlike Museveni who unleashed untold violence and suffering on our people in the 1980s, we choose non-violent strategies in the pursuit of freedom and democracy.
We are committed to non-violence because we despise violence. That is why we are fighting against a violent tyrant. Studies have shown that non-violence is even much more effective in breaking violent dictatorships,” the NUP leader said recently.
However, while giving his remarks during a Joint Security press briefing earlier this week, Ochola said that they will not allow any disgruntled candidates to create public perception and promote hatred.
From a security point of view, the IGP noted that such unfounded claims have a potential of fanning violence in communities.
“We do strongly discourage such acts and advise the candidates to seek redress before the courts of law. As we draw towards the end of the Elections, our enforcement actions are still on. We continue to employ effective measures on levels of vigilance and alertness as we monitor all forms of threats,” Ochola noted.
“We are very firm on the ground and would like to reassure all Ugandans and visitors to our country to remain confident and steadfast. They should also obtain information on the Electoral process from trusted sources and report any suspicious activities to the nearest police unit,” he added.
