Queries As Electoral Commission Bans Phones At Polling Stations

Kampala — An advisory issued on Friday by the Electoral Commission banning the use of mobile phones and other handheld gadgets at polling stations on polling day has provoked jitters from the public, civil society groups and political parties, who are questioning its motive and logic.

EC chairman Badru Kiggundu neither provided reasons for the ban nor quoted any specific law but simply said voters, representatives of political parties and observers should just switch off their phones once they enter the polling area.

"When you reach the polling area switch the phone off, vote and leave, do not start negotiating or making calls within the polling area," he told journalists, claiming it is an international practice.

The advisory issued four days to the polls, has left a bitter taste especially against the backdrop of the "credibility crisis" that the electoral body is suffering from.

Constitutional lawyer Wandera Ogalo, argued yesterday, the advisory "reinforces what the public already knows that [Mr] Kiggundu has never been and is not independent."