The high court in Kampala has thrown a petition by presidential aspirant Joseph Kabuleta looking to halt the ban on open-air campaign.
Kabuleta’s petition is one of two such petitions canceled by the high court on Friday on grounds that both parties didn’t first approach the electoral commission before running to court.
The applications were separately filled one by Dr Emmanuel Diini and another by presidential aspirant Joseph Kabuleta after the EC banned all public rallies or meetings by candidates during 2021 campaigns in exchange for virtual campaigns.
In his petition, Kabuleta had argued that the guidelines were unrealistic and contravened provisions of the Parliamentary, Presidential and Electoral Commissions Act and this was unjustifiably restricting freedom of speech and imposing unconstitutional limitations on the public.
Today, the High Court Judge Esta Nambayo upheld a protest by the Electoral Commission and discharged the applications.
She said that when the complainants when to the court, the electoral commission had not yet issued guidelines for the virtual campaigns.
Nambayo further stated that the law provides that complaints against any alleged abnormality that comes before or within the electoral process should only go to the Court after failing to get justice from the Electoral Commission.
