EAST AFRICA

THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO DISCLOSE THE BIOMETRIC DATA "MBABAZI'S PETITION"

THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO DISCLOSE THE DATA FROM THE BIO METRIC

VERIFICATION SYSTEM USED AT THE VOTING POLLING STATIONS.

In the amended petition, Mbabazi wants the Electoral Commission to disclose the image clone of the Biometric Voter Verification System [BVVS], database, electronic results transmission and dissemination system.

He claims that it's important to produce such information in order to "add up and tally the number of votes cast for each candidate as recorded in the DR forms for ascertainment of the final result in comparison with that announced and declared by the second respondent [Electoral Commission]."

Mbabazi also seeks the disclosure of the date on the BVVK [Biometric voter verification kit] for each polling station and the BVV database on the national basis to prove that the number of voters declared by the Electoral Commission was materially different from the number of voters recorded on BVV database.

"The number of voters declared by the second respondent included numbers of pre-ticked ballot papers stuffed at various polling stations and post-ticked and stuffed ballot papers in favor of the first respondent in Kiruhura, Sembabule, Bundibugyo, Kasese, Gulu, Lira, Kisoro, Arua, Apac, Moroto, Mpigi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rukungiri, Nakasongola, Kamwenge, Sironko, Isingiro, Kanungu, Rakai, Kaabong, Nakaseke, Amuru, Gomba, Kyankwanzi, Butambala, Rakai, Soroti , Luweero, Mubende and Serere, interalia," the petition notes.

Mbabazi contends that the BVVK and BVVS working for nine hours and allocating two minutes per voter could verify approximately 270 voters per polling station and yield approximately 7,562,700 voters nationally.

"In effect, the 10,329,131 voter the second respondent [Electoral Commission] declared as having voted could not have voted on polling day," Mbabazi says.

We have been informed that Mbabazi will use experts to illustrate how the biometric machines work. On February 20, 2016, the day the final results were declared, Mbabazi says that approximately 1,800,000 registered voters had not yet been counted although the number of polling stations declared were 26,223 out of the total 28,010 polling stations.

It's Mbabazi's contention that the results announced by the Electoral Commission in which they declared Museveni as the winner were manifestly different from the results announced at the various polling stations.

"At many polling stations where the petitioner won and or got higher votes than the first respondent [Museveni], the second respondent [Electoral Commission] declared zero results.

In other instances where the petitioners' votes were higher than the first respondent's, they were switched and given to the first respondent," Mbabazi claims.

TALLY CENTER

Unlike in the first petition, with the amendment, Mbabazi questions the process of counting and consolidating of the results through tallying and transmission of results from each polling station to the district tally center, and finally the national tally center saying that it lacked transparency.

According to Mbabazi's lawyers such a practice was contrary to article 1(4) of the constitution since it was shrouded in mystery coupled by concealment of announcing the results and declaring the winner.

"Clearly, the second respondent had no tally center as mandated by the law; instead the chairman [Badru Kiggundu] of the second respondent [Electoral Commission] was receiving forged figures from an illegal tally center run and operated by security agencies at inter alia Naguru," the petition alleges.

Mbabazi argues that at the national tally centre, the candidates' agents were merely listening posts without any input since Kiggundu and the Electoral Commission commissioners would receive results purportedly transmitted from the returning officers.

Mbabazi claims that the Electoral Commission officials would process and fix results and there-after show to agents what they called results.

"From the above process, there was room for switching results when purportedly tallying and doing all malpractices of rigging to alter the final results," the petition notes.

REGISTER

Mbabazi, in the amended petition, says that the Electoral Commission abdicated its constitutional and statutory duty of properly compiling and securely maintaining the national voters register.

Instead, the commission illegally and irregularly retired the duly-compiled voters register and relied on data compiled by the ministry of Internal Affairs for purposes of issuing national identity cards.

"On polling day, voters were identified using the national identity card issued by the national identification and registration authority instead of a voter's card issued by the second respondent contrary to sections 30(4) and 35 of the PEA," Mbabazi said.

As a result, Mbabazi says, many eligible voters who did not register for the national identity card were disenfranchised while ineligible voters who registered for the national identity card were verified as eligible voters.http://allafrica.com/stories/201603100506.html