The\nChairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Justice Simon Byabakama, has\nproposed banning of phones and cameras inside polling stations during voting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nCommissioner, who was appearing before the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary\nAffairs on Tuesday, 10 September 2019, said that the proposed amendment should\nbe included in the Presidential Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2019, being\nconsidered by the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDuring\nvoting, no person shall use a camera of any kind or any recording device inside\nthe polling station. We are looking at protecting the privacy of the voters who\nwish to vote in secrecy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Byabakama\nadded that the amendment should also provide penalties for going against the\nprovision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAny\nperson who contravenes this provision has committed an offence and is liable to\npay Shs800,000, two-year imprisonment or both,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nAbdu Katuntu opposed the proposal saying it will affect transparency and deny\npeople pictorial evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nare more interested in what happens inside a polling station; this rigging takes\nplace inside the polling station. Banning of the camera affects the work of the\njournalists hence disturbing their work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On\nverification of academic documents, hon. Anna Adeke said that the certification\nof the papers was a waste of time since Uganda National Examination Board\n(UNEB) issues original copies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\nis a lot of bureaucracy and the entire process is so tiring. It is also an\nexpensive venture, we have to pay Shs700,000 to certify just one paper,\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nCommittee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has just returned from a\ncountrywide consultation on five electoral reform bills which include the\nPresidential Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2019; the Parliamentary Elections\n(Amendment) Bill, 2019; Electoral Commission (Amendment) Bill 2019; the Political Parties and Organisations\n(Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Justice Simon Byabakama, has proposed banning of phones and cameras inside polling stations during voting. The Commissioner, who was appearing before the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday, 10 September 2019, said that the proposed amendment should be included in the Presidential Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2019, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":11240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n