All political parties have a role to play in the democratic process and should observe respect for each other as legal democratic players and avoid blaming each other for reasons of being either on the side of the government or the opposition. Democratic governments naturally reflect the local cultures and traditions of voters, and this form of government is the single best way to account not only for the needs and wishes of large groups of people, but also for those holding minority viewpoints.

Consideration should be given to amending the Constitution in order to fully adhere to the principles of political rights and freedoms contained in the declarations, conventions and other instruments adopted by the United Nations, the Organisation of African Unity/African Union, the Commonwealth and the United Nations, to which Uganda is a signatory. The rights of political parties to participate in public life should not only be guaranteed as a right de jure, but also as a right de facto. The Constitution should provide those who are part of political parties not only to freely organise and operate as political parties and organisations, but also to stand for election regardless of the political system adopted.

Transparent and accountable mechanisms to record, disclose and audit the donations to political parties and their expenditure during the electoral campaign should be established. Consideration should be given to the introduction of limits on donations to political parties, as well as limits to their campaign expenditure. Enforcement mechanisms to guarantee adequate public disclosure of parties’ income and expenditures should also be introduced and not limited to campaign periods. Consideration could also be given to reducing the current reimbursement to parties from public funds.

The right to stand for independent candidates and citizens’ associations should be allowed at least for regional and municipal elections.

Las infracciones a las reglas relativas al financiamiento de los partidos políticos y las campañas electorales deberían ser objeto de sanciones efectivas, proporcionales y disuasorias. Se recomienda fortalecer las sanciones para aquellos partidos que violen repetidamente las reglas de financiamient.

There should be no limitations on the ability of candidates representing local parties from standing in any election in the province, including for the National Parliament.

As far as possible restrictions on the ability to stand should be kept to a minimum. Potential candidates should not be excluded on the basis of subjective, unreasonable or discriminatory requirements such as level of education, health and wealth. Where possible blanket bans should be replaced by official public declarations, for example, candidate's health and education status, enabling voters to make their own judgement on the merits of those standing

Les partis politiques devraient fournir un effort substantiel en matière d’approfondissement de leur programme mais aussi en matière d’information sur leur organisation. Très peu de partis disposaient de brochures ou de site internet présentant leur programme et leur candidats. Une campagne électorale ne peut se résumer à la distribution de posters, T-shirts ou calendriers à l’effigie des candidats. Les partis devraient aussi veiller à l’intégrité et la motivation des candidats qu’ils présentent. Les témoignages, obtenus des partis et des candidats eux-mêmes, concernant les pratiques d’achats de candidats par de généreux partis ne sont pas rares.

Se deberían proporcionar directrices claras y una mejor formación a los integrantes de las mesas de sufragio y los representantes de las organizaciones políticas, de manera que se evite que los delegados de los partidos políticos se excedan en el ejercicio de sus competencias y practiquen una influencia indebida tanto dentro como en las proximidades de los recintos electorales.

Entamer le plus tôt possible l’examen des modalités pour la mise en place d’un véritable système de contribution publique au financement de l’activité des partis politiques sur base du nombre de suffrages obtenus.

The law should clearly specify what symbols may be used on the ballot paper, and should not allow more than one candidate to use the same symbol. If several candidates wish to do so, a lottery should be held.

In accordance with international standards the racial requirements for citizenship by birth should be repealed to abolish the discrimination in the right to stand for office.

In the long run political parties should be made more economically independent from donors by introducing a governmental financing scheme as suggested by the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance 2001.

Political parties should be provided with the means to improve the training of party agents to ensure that they are capable of fulfilling their oversight role and add to the transparency of the process.

Appropriate timelines for the disqualification of candidates should be outlined in the electoral legal framework.

The legal requirement for political parties to win at least 5% of the valid vote in two consecutive national elections in order to maintain their registration should be eliminated.

Political parties should provide improved training to party agents to ensure that they play an increased oversight role and add to the transparency of the process.

A balance should be struck between ensuring an elected official is ultimately responsible to the people, and to his/her role as a member of a political party. In order to avoid the dangers of corruption and vote buying in floor crossing, while at the same time acknowledging an elected official’s freedom of conscience, it may be useful to consider recognising an elected official who leaves a party as an independent for the remainder of his/her term.

The legal provision which prevents independent candidates from contesting elections should be removed.

The responsibilities of INEC and the judiciary in the process of candidate nomination and disqualification should be clearly outlined in the Electoral Act.

The EU EOM considers that it is necessary to extend the legal requirements demanded for the registration of candidates before the TSE, specifically in accordance with the demand, as included in the LEPP itself, to present the Constancia de Solvencia o Finiquito. The Electoral Law should detail the established timeframes and deadlines, as well as the sanctions that may derive from any non-compliance as well as the bodies that are responsible for auditing this compliance.

Agents for contesting candidates should be trained to take a stronger oversight role. For example, agents should know how to file complaints, how to report election offences and should ensure that they obtain a copy of the polling station’s statement of the count.

Consideration should be given to provision of state funding as well as indirect funding (such as free time on public television and radio) to provide a more equal playing field and to reduce dependency on wealthy contributors. Clear and transparent rules for such funding should be established and consistently applied.

Clear instructions should be issued and enforced to ensure that nazims and other state officials do not interfere in the election process and that state assets are not used to the advantage of any (one or more) party or candidate. Any impropriety should be immediately responded to and should include a penalty for those responsible. The Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Contesting Candidates should include a requirement for election contenders not to use public resources for campaign purposes.

La MOE UE recommande aux partis politiques de s’investir dans la sélection et la formation de leurs délégués auprès des BV afin d’assurer un suivi de qualité du déroulement du scrutin et des opérations de décompte des voix et de remplissage des PV. Cette formation (qui devrait bénéficier du support de la CENI, à travers par exemple une formation des formateurs des partis et la mise à disposition de manuels à leur usage) doit donner la capacité aux délégués des partis de formuler par écrit dans les documents officiels du BV des objections et des commentaires sur toute irrégularité observée. Sans ces objections, la plupart des recours mettant en question la validité des données du PV d’un bureau de vote risquent d’être rejetés par le Conseil Constitutionnel. De même, et au vu du nombre très élevé de recours déclarés non recevables en raison de vices de forme, l’assistance d’un avocat est de la plus haute importance au moment de formuler et de déposer une requête auprès du Conseil Constitutionnel.