Uganda’s election commission on Tuesday announced the presidential election will be held in the country between Jan. 10 and Feb. 8, 2021, emphasizing COVID-19 prevention measures, reported Reuters. The authorities said the restrictions are aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus.
According to the Health Ministry, Uganda currently has reported 823 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no deaths.
“The elections will go ahead as planned. This will be early January and February next year,” said Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, the election commission chairman. “There were fears that the elections will be postponed due to COVID-19, but the constitution demands that we must hold the polls at a specific time and we can’t do away with that.”
The election commission chairman Mugenyi said due to the commission had decided to ban rallies and election campaigns in a bid to implement social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Instead the election body has urged the candidates to use media such as radios and TVs to campaign and get their messages to voters.
“My appeal goes to media owners to avail opportunities to all the candidates for fair coverage,” Mugenyi said at a press briefing.
He added the election commission will set the exact date of the election, also for parliament and local governments, in the upcoming months.
Uganda’s former rebel fighter Yoweri Museveni, who is in power since 1986, has not yet confirmed if he would run again in the upcoming election, but the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party has already appealed him to stand.
Museveni’s strongest opposition presidential candidate is pop star and lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, who has been subject to repeated arrests.
On Monday, Wine announced an alliance with veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who has challenged Museveni for the presidency three times.
