Move On! — Election Boss Tells Bobi Wine

Uganda’s election body has warned opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi  alias Bobi Wine and his National Unity Platform (NUP) party against what it called “misleading the public” with electoral fraud allegations.

Bobi Wine this week presented before the media what he called 20,000 declaration results (DR) forms containing elections results, which when summed up show that he won 54.19 per cent of the total votes cast as opposed to the 35 per cent awarded to him by the Electoral Commission.

He also said Museveni was irregularly declared the winner on January 16 by the Electoral Commission with 58 per cent and called on Ugandans to reclaim their victory through protests.

However, EC chairperson Simon Byabakama said Kyagulanyi should move on from the election because he had the opportunity to present the same evidence he’s fronting now before the Supreme court but instead opted to withdraw the case to take the matters to the public court.

He said Kyagulanyi has not shared the Commission with the ‘evidence’ but he insists that as far as they are concerned the election process was officially concluded and what has been published by the EC website are the actual results.

“I don’t know what is the composition of court of public opinion – what are the rules that govern that court of public opinion. I think the proposers and proponents of that process should be in best position to answer those questions because for me am wondering, what is the best composition to the court of public opinion. What are the rules? How will they determine the matters that have been determined by the Supreme court and what will be the outcome and the implementation process?” said Byabakama.

Reminded that Kyagulanyi said he withdrew the case from the Supreme court after citing bias after being denied the chance to file more evidence by the judges, Byabakama said that can’t be an excuse because even if he was being detained at home as he claims, the DR forms were in the hands of his poll agents immediately after the end of the polling process.

“What is the basis of his claims that he won the elections on account of what is contained in the DR forms which he has. Whereas the DR forms in our custody show a different picture. Secondly, if he felt strongly that he indeed he won the elections and that claim or that conviction is premised on the DR forms he has, why didn’t he utilize the opportunity of having filed a petition in the Supreme court,” said Byabakama.

Kyagulanyi in his now withdrawn election petition accused Museveni of bribery, intimidation, ballot stuffing and sponsoring violence, which resulted in arrests and death of people during the election process. The quality general elections have been heavily criticised by many election observers within and outside Uganda as violent and not free and fair.