§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the total financial help given by Her Majesty's Government to Uganda in each of the last three years.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydGross public expenditure on aid to Uganda was as follows:
Year £ million 1990–91 32.2 1991–92 27.0 1992–93 134.5 1 Provisional.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions he has held with the Ugandan Government about the implications of section 40 of the Uganda Police Bill for the fairness of the forthcoming parliamentary elections;
(2) what discussions Her Majesty's Government have had on the Ugandan constitutional assembly statute 1993 to ensure the rights and interests of all political parties who may wish to contest the forthcoming parliamentary elections; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what discussion he has had with the Ugandan Government to ensure that there will be a free and fair allocation of media availability to all political parties contesting the forthcoming parliamentary elections;
(4) which Ugandan political parties were allowed to take part in discussions on the proposed new constitution.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe and our European partners have had extensive discussions on forthcoming elections to the constituent assembly, which will decide the constitutional future of Uganda.
President Museveni has given assurances that members of all political parties will be allowed to stand in their own right for the election to the Assembly. He has suspended politicisation courses in the run-up to the election, reminded directors of the national resistance movement and district administrators that they must not make pronouncements against political parties, emphasised the independence of the Electoral Commission and directed that free access to radio and television be made available to spokesmen of political parties as well as advocates of the no—partymovement—system. All parties have had the opportunity to present evidence to the constitutional commission on the proposed constitution.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the British Government propose to take to ensure that there are observer groups from the United Kingdom observing the forthcoming Ugandan parliamentary elections.
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§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWhile President Museveni has said he would have no objection to international observers being present at the forthcoming elections to the constituent assembly, there are currently no plans to send observers from the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money has been allocated to Uganda for the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe have agreed to meet the cost of ballot papers and training for some electoral officials. Costs will not be known until contracts have been signed. In addition, we have paid for one representative of each of the main political parties to visit London in order to see how Parliament functions, at a cost of approximately £10,000.