Human Rights Watch 2006
News and Releases
Compiled by Kandy Ringer
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Human Rights Watch 2006 News and Releases Compiled by Kandy Ringer |
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Uganda:Threats To Free Elections Must be Investigated
HRW via BBSNews - Kampala, February 19, 2006 -- International and domestic observers monitoring Uganda’s presidential and parliamentary elections should investigate serious government violations that threaten free and fair elections, Human Rights Watch said today.
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Map of Uganda, 2005.
Photo Credit: The University of Texas at Austin. |
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For the map shown above in it's full size, see Map of Uganda, 2005.
More maps are available in BBSNews Maps. |
On February 23, Uganda will hold its first multi-party elections in two decades, electing a president and members of parliament. Elections for local councils will take place on February 28, March 6, and March 9. Hundreds of local monitors, in addition to monitoring teams from the European Union, the Commonwealth and other governments, have begun to deploy across the country for Thursday’s poll.
“In essence these are multi-party elections in a one-party state,” said Jemera Rone, East Africa coordinator for Human Rights Watch. “We urge all the election observers to take that into account and to address allegations of abuse.”
In an open letter sent on Friday to domestic and international election monitors, Human Rights Watch highlighted the main problems in the pre-election period that tilt the playing field in favor of the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
The letter highlighted the continued existence of single-party state structures of Uganda’s “Movement” system; intimidation and violence by security agents against opposition supporters; and the selective use of prosecutions to hinder and intimidate opposition leaders. In nine of Uganda’s 69 districts, Human Rights Watch has documented 58 cases of intimidation and violence by security agents or NRM members against individuals from the opposition.
The letter calls on international observers to coordinate with Ugandan groups monitoring the elections, such as the Foundation for Human Rights Initiatives (FHRI) and Democracy Monitoring Group (DEM Group), to get a clear picture of violations at the local level.
The letter highlights areas of concern on election day, including:
The open letter to the election observers is based on a February 13 Human Rights Watch briefing paper on the elections, “In Hope and Fear: Uganda’s Presidential and Parliamentary Polls,” available on the web.
The open letter is available at on the web.
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