Plans unveiled for return to multiparty elections

The Ugandan government said on Thursday that it would relax restrictions on political party activity and hold a referendum next February to decide whether the country should revert back to full multiparty politics. As part of the "road map", local, presidential and parliamentary elections were being planned for between February to March 2006, Justice Minister Janat Mukwaya said. "The road map shows how the country will move in the next two years. We have budgeted for the referendum, and a number of activities will follow, including amending laws to conform with the decision that would have been taken by the people through a referendum," Mukwaya told IRIN. Other government sources told IRIN that the referendum would also decide whether a ceiling on terms of Ugandan presidents should be maintained. Controversy has been generated by demands from President Yoweri Museveni's supporters that he be allowed to contest for a third term at the end of his current term in 2006. The constitution limits the president to two terms. Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986 under a "no-party movement system" of government that bans political party activities. Only the ruling National Resistance Movement is allowed to engage in full political party activities, including fielding candidates in elections. Opposition leaders and human rights groups, however, say the system is a de-facto one-party arrangement that limits the freedoms of full political party activity. In 2000, a referendum was held which endorsed the ruling system. But on Friday, opposition politicians won an important legal battle against the government over the legality of the enactment of the law governing the 2000 referendum. The courts ruled that the law which paved the way for the referendum was null and void. But in a televised address, Museveni vowed to disregard the verdict, saying it was "unacceptable", and accusing the courts of trying to "usurp the people's power". "It is totally unacceptable that anyone should try to reverse this exercise. You can play with any other thing but not this one. That is a no-go area for any authority other than the people themselves," Museveni said hours after the verdict. "The government will not allow any authority, including the courts, to usurp the powers of the people. For now, the government lawyers are studying the ruling and shall take appropriate legal redress," the tough-talking Museveni added. Mukwaya said the scheduled referendum was not in disregard of the court ruling, which had noted that a new referendum on political systems would be illegal. The government, she added, was contesting the ruling of the constitutional court because it was "full of contradictions." Several laws are lined up for amendments, including one seeking to have the election of the president, parliament and local governments held on one day. Previously all these elections have been held on separate days.