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US election: Trump, Kamala contrast positions on corruption
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US election: Trump, Kamala contrast positions on corruption

A cross-section of anti-corruption and governance experts said yesterday that America’s support for Uganda’s fight against corruption is likely to be relaxed if Republican Party candidate Donald Trump wins the presidential election, which ends today.

R: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s daughter Natasha Karugire, President Museveni, US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden pose at the White House on December 15, 2022.

Mr. Trump is facing in the polls with Ms. Kamala Harris, the candidate of the Democratic Party (DP) and the current Vice President.

Mr Trump, who won the 2016 polls after defeating Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party, was defeated in 2020 by Joe Biden of the Democratic Party, who ended his re-election bid midway through intense pressure from of his poor showing in a presidential debate against Mr. Trump to concede. to his deputy Harris.

But as Americans choose between Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris, Ugandan anti-corruption and governance experts worry that Mr. Trump is likely to ignore the war on corruption.

They also fear that Trump could roll back the Global Magnitsky Act, as he did when he won the presidency in 2016.

Ms. Sarah Birete, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Governance, said past experiences have shown that Republican Party leaders do not care deeply about global responsibility and human rights, unlike their counterparts in the Democratic Party.

“If Kamala Harris wins, there will be an ever-increasing push for democracy, human rights, and the fight against corruption, especially under the Global Magnitsky Act. If Trump wins, the act will be on the back burner, just as it did under his first presidency,” she said.

The official website of the US State Department states that the Global Magnitsky Act of 2016 under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2017 authorized the US government to sanction those foreign government officials around the world who are violators of the rights man, to freeze his assets. and ban them from entering the US

The sanctions mainly target systemic corruption and human rights abuse, including networks that engage in, facilitate or perpetuate patterns supported by such illicit behaviour.

Under Mr. Biden and his Vice President Harris, some Ugandan civil servants have been sanctioned under this law.

The Speaker of Parliament, Mrs. Anita Among, along with seven other officials, was barred from entering the United States of America on May 30 due to alleged “significant corruption and serious violations” of human rights.

The other officials included Mrs Among’s husband, Moses Magogo; Minister of State for Finance Amos Lugoloobi; former Karamoja Affairs Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu; former Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs Agnes Nandutu; and former Deputy Chief of Defense Force Major General Peter Elwelu.

Combo (LR): President Anita Among, her husband Moses Magogo, former Deputy Chief of Defense Forces Lt Gen Peter Elwelu, former Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs Agness Nandutu and Minister of State for Finance Amos Lugoloobi. Inset (R) is the former Minister of Karamoja Affairs. PHOTOS/FILE

The US State Department also sanctioned Ms Kitutu’s husband, Michael George Kitutu; and Lugoloobi’s wife, Evelyne Nakimera. Mr Magogo, Mr Kitutu and Nakimera were sanctioned because of the alleged actions of their husbands.

“Speaker of Parliament Anita Among is being designated because of her involvement in significant corruption related to her leadership of the Parliament of Uganda,” Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in the May 30 statement.

Four months after those sanctions, the US again banned four Uganda Police Force (UPF) officers for allegations of serious human rights violations, including torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, in October.

The officers were Bob Kagarura, former Wamala Regional Police Commander, and Alex Mwine, former Mityana District Police Commander, Elly Womanya, who at the time of the alleged human rights violation was Senior Commissioner and Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Division of the UPF. Special Investigations Unit (UIS) and Hamdani Twesigye, formerly a Deputy Inspector of Police assigned to UIS.

Activists said yesterday that such actions may not be seen under Trump as he focuses mainly on US domestic affairs.

“I expect to see more accountability sanctions against Uganda if Trump or Kamala Harris win. If Harris wins, it will be a continuation of the Biden administration; with Trump, it was more inward, focusing mostly on America and withdrawing from the global stage. So if you want to see the sanctions continue, Kamala needs to take his day,” said Mr Marlon Agaba, the Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU).

He added: “These decisions are always made by the technical branch, the civil servants in the US government, because even before Biden we saw sanctions on human rights and we saw the same in his government and we expect to see more accountability. I don’t see anything changing with this election.”

In this file photo, then-US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump (R) host Ugandan President Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni at a welcome dinner attended by other world leaders on September 20 2017, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. . PHOTO/FILE/SHEET

During the Trump era, Uganda witnessed several sanctions when the US Treasury Department indicted former Inspector General of Police, General Kale Kayihura on September 13, 2019, for involvement in corruption and human rights abuses.

Activists overall say the Democratic administration is tougher on foreign corruption than Republicans.

How the electoral college works

The Electoral College is the process by which Americans elect their president and vice president indirectly through their state’s voters. Candidates need 270 electoral votes, a majority of the 538 up for grabs, to win the White House. Before the general election, states select voter lists.

After voters cast their ballots in November, the candidate who wins the popular vote determines which slate of electors — Republicans, Democrats or third parties — will vote in the Electoral College for president. In most states, it’s winner-take-all – whoever gets the most votes in the state wins all of its electoral votes. In Maine and Nebraska, the rules are slightly different.

They have a system of proportional representation in which the winner of each congressional district is awarded one electoral vote, and the winner of the statewide vote is awarded each state’s remaining two electoral votes. Electors meet in their respective states in mid-December to cast their votes for president. The meeting takes place on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December, which falls on December 17 this year. Each state is allocated electors based on the size of its congressional delegation.

Chocolate bars with the faces of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump are displayed at a store at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, U.S., October 25, 2024. PHOTO/REUTERS

Several states with the smallest populations—Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming—have three electors each, as they each have one representative in the House and two senators, while California, the largest, has 54 electoral votes. Washington, DC, also has three electors assigned to it.

In the rare event of a tie in the Electoral College—which in modern times would mean each candidate winning 269 electoral votes—the newly elected members of the House of Representatives would decide the outcome of the presidential election, while the Senate would choose the vice president.