20110111
reuters

With elections due in February, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's main rival in the country's presidential elections has threatened to pull out of the race if certain conditions are not met.

Ret Colonel Dr Kiiza Besigye is demanding the disbandment of the National Electoral Commission and issuance of voters cards, among other conditions. He made the threat during an interactive discussion with members of the public on a privately owned TV station.

Besigye has on several occasions questioned the make-up of the country's electoral commission, accusing the team, which is appointed by the president, of being biased in favour of the ruling party.

He has filed several petitions calling for representation of opposition parties in the electoral body, but his requests have been denied by legislators and by Museveni himself. Besigye also accuses the ruling government of using security agents to intimidate voters in areas known to be opposition strongholds.

Other complaints focus on opposition candidates' limited access to media houses as well as bribery.

But what raised the most concern was when the electoral commission announced that it would not be issuing voters cards for the vote but would instead use a database compiled by a foreign company contracted by the government.

"It's up to the electoral commission to move as fast as they can on the issues because they are also stakeholders in this system," says Besigye's director of publicity and communication Margaret Wokuri.

Besigye has not given the government an exact deadline to deal with his complaints. February's election will be the third time Besigye would be facing his former ally Museveni in a presidential election - if Besigye decides to stay in the race.