Yesterday was Uganda’s Presidential Elections.
The day started at 6:15am when I let our night guard leave
early. I wanted him to be in line to
vote because polling stations open at 7am.
Unfortunately, his polling station opened very late at 3pm.
I insisted that our day guard vote before he arrived for
duty. He arrived at 1pm because his
polling station opened at noon. So much
for polls opening at 7am.
A friend of ours was unable to vote at all. Somehow she was registered to vote back in her home village several hours away.
A friend of ours was unable to vote at all. Somehow she was registered to vote back in her home village several hours away.
Another missionary told us that some voting stations didn’t
open at all. Those should be opened
today instead. So much for voting on February
18th.
Just before 4pm, we receiving this Embassy alert (emphasis
added): “The U.S. Embassy advises U.S.
citizens to refrain from driving or
being on the streets in Kampala for the remainder of the day. Since midday [noon], the Embassy has received
some reports of disturbances at or near polling stations in Kampala, including the
blocking of streets with large rocks,
the throwing of rocks, and the setting of small fires.” We planned to stay at home anyhow.
Campaign logo for a peaceful election. |
At least some (perhaps all) social media was blocked on election day. BBC reported that President Museveni
ordered What’s App be blocked. We are
unable to access Twitter, a source for election updates on #UgandaDecides.
Opposition candidate Kizza Besigye was detained by police. Was he really investigating vote rigging or
was it a political stunt? I don’t know.
Today we travel to the quiet western town of Fort Portal. We will visit friends and tour a Christian
medical clinic. We drive home after Sunday
church at Calvary Chapel Fort Portal. Hopefully
we will be back in our Kampala home before the election results are announced. That’s when things can get dicey.
From Uganda,
John Eastham
Good to see your posts again, John. I have wondered how you and your family have been. Glad to hear everyone is doing well. Keep up the posts!
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