Kampala — Uganda's first multiparty elections in two decades, scheduled for 23 February, are unlikely to be free and fair due to state intimidation of the opposition and voters, according to a leading human rights group.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report entitled "In Hope and Fear: Uganda's Presidential and Parliamentary Polls", said the run-up to the polls had "been marred by intimidation of the opposition, military interference in the courts and bias in campaign funding and media coverage."

"The ruling party under President Yoweri Museveni is playing a dirty game of intimidating the electorate and undermining the opposition," said Jemera Rone, HRW's East Africa coordinator, at the release of the report on Tuesday.

"The illegal involvement of the army in the campaign scares the electorate, while the opposition has its hands tied by politically motivated criminal charges against its leaders," she added.

A Ugandan government spokesman dismissed the HRW report as "absolutely biased". Robert Kabushenga, told reporters that HRW instead wanted to influence the outcome of the elections.

Although the polls will be Uganda's first multiparty elections since Museveni came to power in 1986, HRW said they would be far from pluralistic given the control Museveni's National Resistance Movement party has over the country.

"The Ugandan elections are in effect a multiparty contest in a single party state," it said, accusing the government of using state money and official vehicles in the campaign and excluding the opposition from media coverage. "There is no level playing field."

Museveni banned political parties when he seized power after a five-year bush war. In 2005, however, he backed the repeal of the ban in a referendum that the opposition said was an attempt to camouflage his ambition to stay in office for life.

Shortly after the ban was lifted, parliament passed a constitutional amendment removing presidential-term limits that would have barred Museveni from seeking re-election this year.

"The timing of the report and the manner it is written is absolutely biased," Kabushenga said. "It is full of allegations based on rumours and meant to try and influence the outcome of the elections."

The report was released just nine days before the polls and one day before Kizza Besigye, the main opposition leader and Museveni's strongest challenger in the presidential race, is due to appear in court for the start of his treason trial.

Besigye and 22 co-defendants are accused of plotting with rebel groups to overthrow the government after 2001 presidential elections in which Besigye lost to Museveni. Besigye fled the country after his failed presidential bid.

Besigye, leader of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change, is currently on the ballot, but his candidacy could be nullified if he were convicted of treason or on a separate rape charge, for which he is now awaiting a verdict.

HRW said Uganda's previous presidential elections, including the 2001 race between Museveni and Besigye, had been marred by violence and electoral malpractice, mainly by the security forces. The watchdog maintained that violations had continued.

"The military continues to throw a shadow over the 2006 elections," it said.

In the war-ravaged northern region, where the rebel Lord's Resistance Army has waged a 20-year insurgency against Museveni's government, HRW said army officers were threatening to withdraw if Museveni lost.

"Reports of intimidation and violence against the opposition are rife," HRW said, noting that authorities were investigating alleged cases of harassment and assault in 22 of 69 districts.

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[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]