Makerere students have expressed mixed feelings about the second online guild elections that were held earlier today.

The students elect a number of student leaders including the Guild President and Guild Representative Councilors and other organs as stipulated in Section 7 of the Makerere University Students’ Guild Statute 2022.

The university management adopted an online voting method following the chaotic guild elections in 2022 that left one student dead.

David Wafula is a student at the College of Business and Management Sciences at Makerere University. We found him using his personal computer to guide fellow students to cast their votes for different contestants in the 89th Makerere Guild elections. Wafula explained that several students have experienced network challenges as they use their phones to cast their votes.

Wafula noted that some students are not connected to the University WiFi and therefore lack the internet connection to able to vote. According to Wafula other students are not well-versed in the online voting process.

Peter Ssebulime is concerned about the low turnup of students for the election exercise. Most of the students C.O.U Family talked to cited various challenges in the online election process, ranging from unstable internet, delays in the online voting system, and students who cannot afford data, among others

Some students, however, explained that the online voting system is convenient as it allows them to vote from the locations that are most convenient for them since some of them don’t regularly come to the campus. Others say they would have preferred the physical voting method so that all the willing students can participate in the exercise.

Makerere University opted for the online campaign method and voting in the Guild elections, in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions against large gatherings. This is the second time the university is conducting virtual elections.

The university management buttressed the online campaigns and elections following the death of a student of Uganda Christian University, Bewatte Betungura who was stabbed in a scuffle during the election campaigns in 2022. The deceased UCU student had come to campaign for a member of his party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

Gloria Irankunda