Electoral Commission chairman, Justice Simon Byabakama, has said some of the seals on the polling kits which were reported to be tampered with in the districts of Koboko and Hoima got broken while in transit.
While explaining the circumstances under which seals to some boxes got broken and others arrived not sealed at all, a condition that raised a lot of concern to both voters and candidates, Byabakama said the kits were broken while in transit from the commission’s main warehouse in Kampala to the respective districts.
A statement released on said read;
“The breakage is a result of impact of stacked metal boxes sealed with plastic seals, pressing against each other, during transportation.”
Byabakama also noted that each polling kit includes two spare seals to take care of emergency during transportation, and confirms that the ballot papers and declaration forms and other materials all remained sealed despite the boxes getting broken.
“As a measure to ensure integrity and transparency of the process, stakeholders in the respective districts are briefed before the offloading begins. Any box that is found with a broken seal gets a replacement, and the serial numbers of both the old and the new seals are recorded. This is done after ascertaining that the contents of the polling kit are all intact,” Justice Byabakama said before assuring the stakeholders to have the trust;
“The Commission assures all stakeholders that the polling kit remains sealed up to the time of delivery at the polling station where the presiding officer will open it, on the morning of polling day, and in the presence of ten registered voters at the respective polling station.”
The development comes just a few days to the heated 2021 elections set for the 14th January 2021.
