Kampala — Representation of political parties on the Electoral Commission is not necessary to guarantee its independence, security minister Amama Mbabazi said yesterday.

What is important, Mbabazi added, was the integrity, and not the political leanings of the people who head it.

"I don't think there are Ugandans without political leanings."

Mbabazi was commenting on opposition leader Prof. Ogenga Latigo's suggestion that political parties should have a say in the appointment of electoral commissioners. This, he argued, would safeguard the commission's independence and raise trust in it.

Both politicians were speaking at a dialogue on electoral systems in Africa at the Serena Hotel Kampala yesterday.

Defending the importance of integrity, Mbabazi cited the appointment of High Court Justice Joseph Mulenga, a former chairman of the Democratic Party. He also cited Supreme Court Justice George Kanyeihamba whom he said had political leanings.

"I have no doubt they are adjudicating properly," he said.

The opposition have in the past accused the commission of bias towards the ruling NRM party. But Mbabazi said the commission was doing better now than in the past when Robert Kitariko, a DP, was its secretary.

Yesterday, Latigo said in the last two elections, the commission did not deliver free and fair elections, and the courts of law ruled so.

He called for good politics and urged the ruling party to recognise that the opposition can also rule.

"Not long ago President Museveni compared himself to a hunter who killed his animal, asking where he should go. What reforms do we undertake for free and fair elections when the President says he is the one who killed the animal?" Latigo asked.

Kanyeihamba said the Supreme Court ruled that the 2001 and 2006 elections were not free and fair and made recommendations for reform, which the Government had not acted on.

"Are we in a game of talking about reforms genuinely?" he asked.

On term limits, Mbabazi said limiting the presidency to two terms was undemocratic if elections were being held frequently.

"Democracy means free choice by the people; give them the opportunity to choose."

Although he supported state funding for political parties, he cautioned against "too much foreign funding", which he said might influence party policies.

Mbabazi also said his political future was certain despite the parliamentary probe which accuses him of wrong-doing in the NSSF-Temangalo land purchase.

Latigo had said Mbabazi should be worried about his "immediate future".

US ambassador Steve Browning said the exchange of ideas was essential to Uganda's democracy.