By Editorial Team
About 50 Journalists from across the Rwenzori sub-region have been introduced to the Uganda Elections Data Portal to always guide them produce data-driven election stories.
The Uganda Elections Data Portal (UEDP) is a project of the International Republican Institute (IRI) designed to increase transparency and understanding of voter registration and results made publicly available by the Uganda Electoral Commission (EC).
Speaking to rwenzoridaily.com shortly after a one day training of Journalists on the Uganda Elections Data Portal on Sunday at TJ Global Hotel in Kasese town, Mr. Francis Roger, the Resident Program Director, says that the data portal tool would allow Journalists and other users to visualize, analyze, and download voter registration and other election related data from the presidential elections since 2006, enabling Uganda’s electoral stakeholders to conduct more effective civic and voter-education efforts.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, a section of the participants hailed IRI for the initiative describing it timely.
Saimon Bikeke, the coordinator for Umbrella for Journalists in Kasese said that the Data Portal tool would help Journalists in the region to set the agenda guided with facts so that community members make informed decisions ahead of the Busongora South by election slated for August 18.
Bikeke challenged his colleagues especially presenters to utilize the Data Portal in their programing so that they are guided by facts.
The Busongora South Parliamentary Seat fell vacant last month following a court of appeal ruling on a petition filed by Kathika against the then area MP, Gideon Thembo Mujungu over irregularities that marred the January 14, 2021 parliamentary elections.
Following the Court of Appeal ruling that overturned the earlier decision of the High Court in Fort-portal, Mujungu was thrown out of parliament and the Electoral Commission was ordered to organize fresh elections.
Alex Baluku, the founder for rwenzoridaily.com, “we live in the age of internet proliferation where there is an abundance of data that are easily accessible to all at just a few clicks away and with rapid advancement of technology there is greater digitization of data”.
However, Baluku says data in its crude form often lack coherence and context and data without context can be meaningless and even intimidating at times that if handled without care and proper tools, data can be subject to misinterpretation and misunderstanding the reason to why he hailed IRI for conducting such training.
He adds that data can be used to provide deeper insights into what is happening around the world and how it might affect the people.
