2021 Presidential campaigns to be held on Zoom, radio and TV; no rallies
The 2021 presidential campaigns will most likely be held scientifically should the COVID-19 pandemic persist, a meeting between President Museveni and a team from Electoral Commission has resolved.
The meeting that was held at State House Entebbe on Friday insisted that the earlier plans of holding elections between January and February be stuck to with or without the pandemic.
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The meeting agreed that to ensure the process of campaigning and elections proceed, respective candidates will be required to campaign using the new digital tool dubbed Zoom or through different broadcast channels namely; radio and television.
As a result, there was consensus for the government to shoulder the burden of procuring radio receivers as well as television sets for citizens to be able to follow the campaigns.
This was backed by the knowledge that only 11 million Ugandans are able to access the internet, of which only a little over 2million can ably access zoom or social media channels, with the most (if not all) located in urban centres.
It was therefore imperative for the government to find other means of engaging voters in rural and hard to reach areas.
The government will, therefore, set aside Shs 380 bilion shilling to buy at least 10 million radios for distribution across the country specifically to people with radio access needs.
The cost means each radio will be costed at Shs38,000.
The government also will buy over 137,000 TV sets which will go to villages, with two television sets allocated to each of the 68,773 villages.
The money for television sets however will be tied to that of the ministry of education, since the TV sets were already in the pipeline for distance learning.
On whether the TV sets will facilitate congestion in villages, Museveni said that it is easier to identify villagers who have been infected, since locals know and police each other, unlike urban centers.
Masks will also continue to be distributed to everyone in the country, hence on the polling day, Standard Operating Procedures will be followed including the compulsory wearing of masks.
In May Museveni said it would be wrong to hold a presidential election expected for early next year if the coronavirus persists, signaling for the first time a possible delay.
“To have elections when the virus is still there... It will be madness,” the 75-year-old Museveni, whom opponents cast as an authoritarian clinging to power, said in an interview with the local NBS Television.
Bobi Wine wants elections
On June 2, Bobi Wine unveiled two teams that comprised an Electoral Management Committee and a Mobilisation Committee to oversee the election preparation affairs of the pressure group. He said he wanted elections to be held and on time.
