President Museveni has accused the opposition National Unity platform (NUP) of vote rigging in the 2021 general elections.
“I have now got all the evidence that in the last election, NUP, cheated by 1 million votes,” said Museveni on Wednesday.
“I have the facts,” he emphasised.
“NUP can take me to court and say Museveni falsely accused them.”
President Museveni made the remarks today during the memorial thanksgiving ceremony for the late Gen. Aronda, held at the Commonwealth Resort, Munyonyo.
Earlier on, the ceremony was preceded by a service officiated by All Saints Cathedral, Kampala, and led by Rt. Rev. Onesmus Asiimwe, the Bishop of North Kigezi Diocese, with assistance from Rt. Rev. Emeritus Patrick Tugume.
This event marked the final day of a three-day 2024 Kampala Defence and Security Expo, which commenced on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
The expo was held under the theme: “Celebrating the Life of Hon. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima; A Paragon of Revolutionary Sacrifice, Pan-Africanism, Patriotism, Courage, and an Accomplished Freedom Fighter”.
Museveni did not provide evidence to back up his claims. Neither did he elaborate on the formula used to reach his conclusion.
The President did not say whether he conducted an audit of the election results or relied on intelligence analysis.
Instead, NUP, accused the ruling NRM party of masterminding electoral malpractices including vote stuffing, initmidation and arrest of opponents not to mention the disruption of their campaigns across the country by security personnel.
In the 2021 polls, NUP garnered 3,631,437 votes, representing a 35.08% of total ballots cast while President Museveni secured victory with 6,042,898 votes (58.38%).
Electronic Voting
Museveni extensively spoke about the need to amend the laws to allow electronic voting in Uganda.
The President said he introduced the idea of electronic voting with fingerprint identification, a concept he proposed two decades ago, in order to combat electoral malpractices.
“Fingerprints are unique; Gen. Muhoozi’s fingerprints are different from mine,” President Museveni noted.
Initially met with skepticism, the President said the technology was refined through a partnership between Uganda and a German company, which proposed scanning the entire hand to ensure accuracy.
He added that although the machines were procured, a legal loophole allowed manual voting if the machines failed.
“The law must be amended to state that if the electronic system fails, elections at that polling station should be suspended. Aronda’s efforts were significant, but the law still left room for cheating,” said Museveni.
Museveni praised the late Gen. Aronda Nyakairima for his transformative impact on Uganda’s voter identification system, which he said had been a cornerstone of the country’s democracy and stability.
Aronda’s contribution
According to President Museveni, when he appointed Gen. Aronda Minister of Internal Affairs, he tackled a problem that had plagued Uganda since independence; the accurate identification of Ugandans, particularly voters.
He highlighted that the 1962 elections were marred by widespread fraud orchestrated by the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) and Kabaka Yekka.
“Each party had its own box, and voters were secretly directed to fill boxes in favour of UPC. The boxes, marked with symbols like the hoe for DP and a finger for Kabaka Yekka, were manipulated to ensure results favoured the UPC. This level of deceit undermined the entire electoral process, making MPs unaccountable and indifferent to their constituents,” he noted.
Following Amin’s removal in 1979, President Museveni said his group sought to reform this corrupt system.
“Despite our efforts to introduce transparent practices like one ballot box per polling station and public voting, cheating persisted with multiple registrations and fake ballot papers,” he explained.
Discipline
President Museveni also praised Gen. Aronda’s discipline and the significance of the culture of remembering contributions of such exceptional people.
“Thank you, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and the Ministry for organising this remembrance for Aronda. This remembrance is crucial for justice and education, providing a forum for retired and serving officers to unite,” he said.
“I salute those who organised this remembrance ceremony. This is a good culture because it does justice to those who sacrificed, so people get to know what they did. We have now done justice to Gen. Aronda. Additionally, people who were not there get to learn about what the departed did; it is an education for all. Lastly, it creates a forum where retired, still-serving, and young officers come together,” he added.
