Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the conduct of the election in Uganda on 18 February 2016.

James Duddridge

I commend the people of Uganda for turning out in large numbers to cast their vote on 18 February 2016 and for their determination to participate in the electoral process. However, the British Government has raised a series of concerns with the Government of Uganda about the conduct of the elections and the post-election environment. These include serious delays to the opening of polling stations, restrictions on social media access and the continuing harassment and intimidation of members of the opposition and journalists by the Uganda Police Force.

These issues were also reflected in the EU and Commonwealth Election Observation Missions’ preliminary statements of 20 February which we fully endorse. I urge the Government of Uganda to comprehensively address all the issues raised in the Election Observation Missions’ reports.

With international partners we continue to urge all sides to show restraint in the post election period, to abide by the rule of law and to settle election related disputes through the proper legal channels. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.