Leaders of the opposition parties involved in the 2021 presidential election have asked their supporters to turn up in big numbers at polling stations on Thursday to vote and “protect their votes” in a press briefing at Hotel Africana, Kampala on Tuesday.

National Unity Platform’s (NUP) Robert Kyagulanyi, Alliance for National Transformation’s (ANT) Mugisha Muntu and Forum for Democratic Change’s (FDC) Patrick Amuriat held a joint press conference where they condemned what they termed as efforts by the ruling party to intimidate their supporters and voters.

“From what we have seen during campaigns, Gen Museveni is trying to say one thing, "dare me not”,” FDC’s Amuriat said at the press briefing.

The Presidential candidates further condemned the hard-handedness they suspect the government is using to scare voters away from polling stations in the press briefing that was attended by four-time presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye.

“We as forces of change recognize that the higher the number of voters, the higher the chances of having a peaceful change of power as a country. The regime is using violence to  dampen the mood,” ANT’s Muntu said.

The condemnation comes days after the country’s security agencies including the Police and UPDF held a press conference where they assured the public that there will be serious consequences for those who perpetrate violence.

"I would like to assure the whole country that whoever causes trouble will regret why his or her mother gave birth to him or her," IGP Martin Okoth Ochola said at the security briefing on Friday.

Opposition candidates have considered such talk as threats.

Electoral commission and Kyagulanyi

The briefing was an opportunity for Robert Kyagulanyi to call onto the Electoral Commission to ensure that the election process goes through without a hitch.

“To Mr Byabakama. If you mismanage this election, it will be upon you forever. The people of Uganda aren't going to accept any illegality anymore,” NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi said at the briefing.

The musician-turned-politician who claims that earlier on Tuesday, his home was raided by military personnel and some of his workers taken was quick to point out what he says are various injustices that have, over the campaign period, been used by the ruling party to oppress his supporters.

On top of the Kalangala campaign arrests and police blocking him in multiple districts, Kyagulanyi put emphasis on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the electoral commission asked him to sign in order to continue seeking votes in 16 districts.

“The Electoral Commission has managed to expose its bias by stopping me from campaigning and indeed I have not sought votes in the last 5 days because they have asked me to sign an illegal MOU,” Kyagulanyi said.

COVID-19 and elections

On Thursday, Ugandans will have the opportunity to decide who leads them for the next 5 years. The period leading to this has seen increased violence including riots within Kampala and clashes between candidates and their supporters. These have led to deaths, injuries and arrests of various stakeholders.

The big issue has been on health SOPs against COVID-19 and how they fit in a narrative of free and fair elections especially after the electoral commission and the Police warned against large numbers around polling centers in an effort to manage the pandemic’s effects in Uganda.

Former Presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye believes that the violence caused by the enforcement of COVID-19 health SOPs is actually not about the pandemic but the elections.

“The regime is not concerned about COVID-19. If you go down-town and see how people are gathered in markets, you would know that it is not about COVID,” Besigye says.

Besigye says that the violence - in the name of COVID-19 - that has happened in this elections process is unprecedented.

“Violence terror seems to be scaled up every coming election. The lower the support of the regime goes, the more they replace it with repression and violence,” Besigye says.

As 2021 elections D-day approaches, voters continue to get more worried about the state of polling centers on Thursday.

NTV Uganda will continue to follow the 2021 general elections and updates will be provided in real time on our website and social media platforms.