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DPI Holds Survey on how 2016 Elections could Affect Human Rights Defenders

download (1)Defenders Protection Initiative (DPI) is conducting a research on “THE THREATS LIKELY TO AFFECT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS TOWARDS 2016 ELECTIONS IN UGANDA” which is aimed at identifying the likelihood of such threats that may arise during this period and may affect civil society organizations – Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in particular and develop recommendations to mitigate them.

You are kindly requested to spare 5 minutes of your time to complete the research survey by following the link below; https://www.esurveycreator.com/s/e7bd69c

Uganda provides national elections for a president and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term. The Parliament is composed of members directly elected to represent constituencies, and one woman representative for every district; as well representatives of special interest groups, including the army, youth, workers and persons with disabilities. The next elections will be held in February 2016.

Over Time, Elections in Uganda have been marked by gross unfairness. There has been a lot of instances when political opponents come into violent clashes often leading to serious injuries , Journalists being beaten up, the use of militias to “guard votes”, Supporters of candidates and / or their agents being arrested and beaten up , refusal to acknowledge election results by candidates who loose in elections et al.

This presents an electoral paradox.  Thus, because we desire peace and security and because we recall our history, which was characterized by political and constitutional instability, to which we never want to return – we must do everything possible to prevent electoral violence as Human Rights Defenders.

Special note from DPI; We want to assure you that your responses are completely anonymous. No personally identifiable information will be collected unless you voluntarily offer personal or contact information in any of the comment fields. Additionally, your responses are combined with those of many others and summarized in a report to further protect your anonymity.