Uganda\u2019s 2021 general elections hang in the balance after President Yoweri Museveni said it would be suicidal for Ugandans to go to the polls when the country is still battling the Covid-19 pandemic that is ravaging countries across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\na rare exclusive local TV interview in recent times, set to be aired\non Monday evening -Museveni said it would be unwise for people to\ngather in an election season that could lead to the spread of the\ndeadly coronavirus. \u201c It will be madness to say you go and\npeople gather . I don\u2019t think it will be wise\u201d, Museveni said \nwhen asked about the possibility of holding the elections in the\nmiddle of the Covid-19 pandemic .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uganda\nwas set to hold general elections in early 2021 but with the\npresident\u2019s remarks it seems most unlikely that Ugandans will\nchoose their leaders for the next five years as scheduled .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nElectoral Commission , the body charged with managing elections in\nUganda was tight lipped about the new development although sources\nintimated that officials led by the Electoral Commission Chairman\nJustice Simon Byakagaba were consulting widely about the next course \nof action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Already\n, section of Uganda\u2019s representatives to the East African\nLegislative Assembly (EALA) have called for the postponement of the\ngeneral elections arguing that the Electoral Commission didn\u2019t\nhave sufficient time left to hold the elections as earlier planned . \n \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthe TV interview to be aired on Monday at 9pm local time, President\nMuseveni also hit out at opposition politicians who accused him of\ntaking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to gain political capital\ncalling them \u201cIdiots\u201d. \u201cWho could wish for this so that I\nspeak and become popular ?. That\u2019s rubbish , idiots\u201d, Museveni\nadded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legal and financial cost of postponing a general election will be quite significant and it cant be helped by the fact that a considerable amount of national resources have been invested in the emergency responses against the Covid-19 crisis, areas hit by floods due to the on going heavy rains and the locust’s invasion. \u201c The resource envelop is simply oversubscribed right now to undertake such an expensive enterprise like the general elections. If we go ahead with the elections, it will not be fair to all the players. The logical thing to do would be to push the elections forward for at least a year,\u201d a political commentator who preferred not to be named stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uganda has already lost two months according to the general elections road map that was released by the Electoral Commission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But other independent elections observers include Mr. Crispin Kaheru, who has called upon the government to follow the South Korea example where they have successfully held their legislative elections while observing strict health measures including social distancing and washing hands to avoid contracting the deadly virus in an elections season. \u201c Therefore, what Uganda needs is probably not postponing the election, but rather integrating health and safety measures in its electoral framework, Kaheru said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least fifty-three (53)\ncountries and territories across the globe have decided to postpone\nnational and subnational elections due to COVID-19, out of\nwhich at least eighteen (18) countries and territories have\ndecided to postpone national elections and referendums;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Uganda\u2019s 2021 general elections hang in the balance after President Yoweri Museveni said it would be suicidal for Ugandans to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[66],"tags":[88,117],"class_list":["post-1154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-national-news","tag-covid-19","tag-general-elections"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/museveni.jpeg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2578,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/ugandan-youth-launch-country-wide-village-campaign-for-museveni-ahead-of-general-elections\/","url_meta":{"origin":1154,"position":0},"title":"UGANDAN YOUTH LAUNCH COUNTRY WIDE VILLAGE CAMPAIGN FOR MUSEVENI AHEAD OF GENERAL ELECTIONS","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"January 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Ugandan Youth mainly from the the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party have started country wide door to door village campaigns for their presidential flag bearer Gen. Yoweri Museveni ahead of next week's general elections. Speaking at NRM party headquarters in Kampala, the chairman of the NRM Youth League, Gaddafi Nassur,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Elections"","block_context":{"text":"Elections","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/elections\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nrm.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nrm.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nrm.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nrm.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nrm.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1570,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/prominent-ugandans-named-to-draft-nrm-partys-2021-general-elections-campaigns-manifesto\/","url_meta":{"origin":1154,"position":1},"title":"PROMINENT UGANDANS NAMED TO DRAFT NRM PARTY\u2019s 2021 GENERAL ELECTIONS CAMPAIGNS MANIFESTO","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"July 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Special Political ReportersPresident Yoweri Museveni has named a team of 14 prominent Ugandans, led by Justice and Constitutional Affairs Cabinet Minister, Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu ( Chairman of the Committee) to draft the 2021 NRM party campaigns manifesto.The new team , impeccable sources told ugandaupdatenews.com is slated to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Prof.-Ephraim-Kamuntu.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Prof.-Ephraim-Kamuntu.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Prof.-Ephraim-Kamuntu.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Prof.-Ephraim-Kamuntu.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1558,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/museveni-nominated-nrm-sole-candidate-for-the-2021-presidential-elections\/","url_meta":{"origin":1154,"position":2},"title":"MUSEVENI NOMINATED NRM SOLE CANDIDATE FOR THE 2021 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"July 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"BY OUR POLITICAL REPORTERS President Yoweri Museveni has been nominated the sole \u00a0\u00a0NRM \u00a0candidate to contest the 2021 Presidential elections that will go ahead despite the ravaging novel- global\u00a0 Covid-19 pandemic . The nomination exercise was presided over by the NRM Electoral Commission Chairman, Dr Tanga Odoi who said the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MUSEVENI-NOMINATED.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MUSEVENI-NOMINATED.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MUSEVENI-NOMINATED.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/MUSEVENI-NOMINATED.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1429,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/the-2021-general-elections-cannot-be-postponed-government\/","url_meta":{"origin":1154,"position":3},"title":"THE 2021 GENERAL ELECTIONS CANNOT BE POSTPONED-GOVERNMENT","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"July 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The government has ruled any possibility of postponing the 2021 general election due to the novel Covid- 19 pandemic according to a statement released today by the Minister of \u00a0Information Communication Technology (ICT ) and National guidance (NG) Ms. Judith Nabakooba . Government has also categorically stated that there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Elections"","block_context":{"text":"Elections","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/elections\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/naba.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/naba.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/naba.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/naba.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/naba.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2175,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/gen-museveni-nominated-for-presidential-campaigns-strongly-warns-those-plotting-to-destabilise-the-country\/","url_meta":{"origin":1154,"position":4},"title":"GEN MUSEVENI NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS STRONGLY WARNS THOSE PLOTTING TO DESTABILISE THE COUNTRY","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"November 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has been nominated the NRM party Presidential candidate for the 2021 general elections at Kololo grounds in a low-key exercise while complying to the government set SOPs to avoid the spread of the deadly coronavirus. He Electoral commission Chairman, Justice Simon Byabakama, declared Museveni duly nominated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Elections"","block_context":{"text":"Elections","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/elections\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/m7-nomina.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/m7-nomina.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/m7-nomina.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/m7-nomina.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/m7-nomina.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1874,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/information-minister-calls-for-peace-ahead-of-disabled-and-youth-elections\/","url_meta":{"origin":1154,"position":5},"title":"INFORMATION MINISTER CALLS FOR PEACE AHEAD OF DISABLED AND YOUTH ELECTIONS","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"September 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Minister of\u00a0 Information , Ms. Judith Nabakooba has called upon her fellow national leaders to be \u00a0champions of \u00a0peace during the forthcoming 2021 general elections. Echoing President Yoweri Museveni \u2018s call for peaceful elections , Nabakooba\u00a0 noted that the pursuit of personal gain pushes politicians and their supporters \u00a0to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nabakoba.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nabakoba.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nabakoba.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nabakoba.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-iC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1156,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions\/1156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}