MUKONO – Uganda Christian University has embraced an online voting application and this will be used in the guild elections slated for next month.
The new app is named ‘e-Chagua,’ a Kiswahili word that means voting.
Ms Bridget Magasira Mugume, the director students’ affairs at UCU, said the university came up with this new innovation to help students have a chance of electing their leaders during the current situation of Covid-19 pandemic.
“This system will us from spending much money on election, the budget has reduced from Shs30m to only Shs19m,” Ms Mugasira said during a press conference over the weekend.
During previous elections, Ms Mugasira said the university could spend a lot of money on printing ballots, prolonging in long queues and counting votes.
Ms Mugasira also said candidates will campaign online.
“Candidates / students will have a debate on Television stations and we shall communicate to all students to watch and then choose suitable candidates,” she said.
Mr Edwin Byarugaba, the UCU web and e-learning administrator ,said the e-voting system was developed on the request of the director of students affairs in 2015 to solve voting challenges at the university and it was also tested in 2018.
