Pallisa, Uganda: The Bukedi regional chairperson of the Forum for Democratic Change, Emmanuel Olebo Odeke, has broken his silence to strongly criticise a directive issued by Simon Byabakama, ordering voters to leave polling stations immediately after casting their ballots.
Olebo, who also serves as Pallisa District FDC publicity secretary, said the directive undermines transparency and fairness, arguing that it deviates from established electoral practice observed during Uganda’s previous general elections in 1996, 2011, 2016, and 2021.
“This has never been the case in all the past elections. Chasing voters away is mainly intended to serve presidential interests, but it will greatly affect parliamentary candidates as well,” Olebo said.
He warned that the directive disproportionately disadvantages opposition candidates and NRM-leaning independents who are mobilising at personal cost, while favouring official National Resistance Movement flag bearers.
“The people who will suffer most are NRM-leaning independents and candidates from other parties. When voters are driven away from polling stations, it favours NRM flag bearers because they are already regarded as winners in the current situation,” Olebo argued.
Olebo said he had received information that some NRM candidates were already celebrating the directive, claiming victory even before polling day.
“If a stadium can hold 60,000 fans watching 22 players officiated by referees and VAR officials without violence, how does the Electoral Commission imagine that 600 voters at a polling station can suddenly turn violent?” Olebo asked.
He called on opposition and non-NRM parliamentary aspirants to jointly petition the Electoral Commission to revise the directive or consider separating presidential and parliamentary election days, arguing that the current approach appears designed to secure President Museveni’s victory at the expense of other contests.
Olebo further accused Byabakama of abandoning neutrality, urging him to emulate former EC chairpersons Stephen Besweri Akabwai and Hajji Aziz Kasuja, who he said formally engaged the President on electoral security matters instead of claiming unilateral control.
Similar concerns were echoed by other political actors in Pallisa.
Godwin Isaac Aisu, the Democratic Party flag bearer for Agule County, criticised the directive as unconstitutional, saying Ugandans had expected better from Byabakama given his legal background.
“It is disappointing that a former constitutional justice would misinterpret the Constitution for other interests,” Aisu said.
FDC candidate for Pallisa County Martin Owako said the directive should have been communicated before candidates paid nomination fees.
“Some of us would not have wasted time and resources in elections that appear predetermined,” Owako said.
Independent candidate Julius Okurut Arecho warned that the directive could further depress voter turnout, noting that Electoral Commission reports showed more than four million Ugandans did not vote in 2021, partly due to fear.
“It is wrong for the chairman to make people imagine election day will be deadly. For many voters, the MP race matters more because the presidential outcome is already assumed,” Okurut said.
Even voices within the ruling party expressed concern. Jeremiah Ariong cautioned that enforcing the directive would likely trigger a surge in election petitions.
Meanwhile, Martin Okiria, a mobiliser for NUP woman MP aspirant Jane Abbo, said the Electoral Commission appeared unprepared and should have postponed the elections instead of issuing restrictive directives.
As debate over the directive intensifies, pressure continues to mount on the Electoral Commission to clarify its legal basis and reassure Ugandans of a free, fair, and transparent electoral process ahead of the 2026 polls.
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