The opening of thousands of voting stations, employing staff and printing ballot papers is expensive. About 9 years ago Uganda introduced a much cheaper method, but just for electing the local town council.
At 11 am the candidates for chairing the Council arrive on a piece of land and the electors turn up. Each elector stands in front of the person they want to vote for. They have an hour to decide. At 12 noon the person with the most supporters is elected chair of the Council.
He, or she, then chooses from their supporters the other Council members.
All done in just over an hour. No delay in counting unnecessary secret ballots etc.
The bad news is that most people Malcolm spoke to didn't intend to vote. If they were seen to vote for the wrong person, who lost, the successful chair person might hold a grudge. The Local Council Chairman does hold a lot of power in the community,
The good news is that everybody gets a Public Holiday in order to be able to go and vote.
In Kisiizi the current chairman was unopposed so he got straight on to choosing his Councillors.
He then paraded through the village to celebrate his victory.
This week Malcolm left the hospital site for the first time. He needed to go the the nearest town, Kabale, to help pay money into the banks to pay staff their mid-month salaries.
It was also an opportunity for the Guest House Manager to purchase stock to cook meals for guests.
When he returned Malcolm discovered a visitor had walked to the front of his house, also looking for food.
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