UGANDA'S MULTI-PARTY ELECTIONS UNDER ONE-PARTY RULES

Motion Text

That this House notes with concern that the recent multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections in Uganda were conducted under structures shaped by one-party laws; regrets that Ugandan authorities have already allocated 10 parliamentary seats to army officers who will sit and vote in the new parliament although the constitution bars the military from participating in politics; further regrets that the main opposition leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, had to spend four weeks in prison during the campaign; congratulates Dr Besigye for overcoming these obstacles to win 37 per cent. of the votes; further congratulates him on his decision to take his election grievances to the Supreme Court rather than taking up arms as President Museveni did in 1980; believes that Dr Besigye and his FDC party are making significant contributions to the promotion of democracy and peace in Uganda; and calls upon the British Government to work with allies in the European Union to persuade the Ugandan authorities to reciprocate by respecting the Constitutional Court ruling that Dr Besigye's trial in the general court martial is illegal.