Kampala — UGANDANS are still split right in the middle over the fairness of the February general election that handed President Museveni a third term, a new poll shows.

As many people sampled believe the election, which was resolved by a Supreme Court judgement, was neither free nor fair. An equal number on the other divide believe it was free and fair.

Thirty three percent of the respondents to the poll conducted between September 21 and 27, nearly eight months after the election, said they believed the election was neither free nor fair. An equal percentage gave the poll a clean bill of health.

But another 33 percent said the elections had varying degrees of health, some 13 percent said the elections were "free and fair with major problems" while 20 percent said they were "free and fair with minor problems," according to the poll results which started running exclusively in the Daily and Sunday Monitor on Saturday.

Daily/Sunday Monitor commissioned the poll as part of Monitor Publications Ltd commitment to stimulating debate on important national issues.

Dr Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) petitioned the Supreme Court soon after the elections, citing massive rigging, intimidation. He also said the election was conducted outside of the law. He asked court to nullify the election and overturn the re-election of President Museveni.

Besigye however failed to win an order for a re-election after the court said that he failed to prove that the irregularities had substantially affected the final result.

Nine percent of Dr Besigye's supporters believe he lost fair and square while five percent of those who voted Museveni believe he stole his way to the third term.

These (9% Besigye supporters) believe the election was "fully free and fair" while (5% of Museveni supporters) believe the election was "not free and fair at all."

Another five percent of President Museveni's supporters believe the irregularities were major while 26 percent believe they were minor.

On the other had, 15 percent of Besigye's supporters believe that major problems affected the election results while 10 percent believe the problems were minor.

Museveni and Besigye supporters share equally in their displeasure over the results. 64 percent of Besigye's supporters said the election was neither free nor fair at all, the same percentage of President Museveni's supporters believe the election was fully free and fair.