Notes of a Diarist: UK Polling Day is Like Any Other

by Kp Editor

posted onJuly 5, 2024

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By Dennis Katungi

This is a high-stakes general election in Great Britain. My Party, the Labour Party [I’ve been a card-holding member since 1992] has been working hard to unseat the Conservatives who have been in power for the last 14 years. I cast my vote at 4.00 pm yesterday at my local polling station - the Old Town Hall of Barking & Dagenham. Having presided over austerity, Brexit & the Covid pandemic among other challenges, the Tories are deeply unpopular as they headed to the Polls.

The Labour Party of the UK has been described as being an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists, and trade unionists. The Party sits on the center-left of the political spectrum. In all general elections since 1922, Labour has been either a governing party or the official opposition.

I nearly missed voting due to a Qatar Airlines hiccup!

I reported to their check-in Desk at 2.00 pm Wednesday as indicated on my ticket – only to be told there was a 3-hour delay. That meant that I could not get my London connection to Doha as earlier scheduled. But I still had a chance, if as they promised, I got on to their 9.00 pm flight. As I chatted with my friend Maj Gen. David Mugisha, Commander of SFC about my flight predicament, he suggested I would rather check out their new facilities instead of losing at the airport for all those hours.

Within minutes I was ushered into the SFC Senior Officers Mess. I was impressed by the current state of affairs at the spruced-up SFC HQs. Top-notch facilities including a brand new Gym/Steam & Sauna. I checked out the Brig. Noble Mayombo House, the newly completed Gen Salim Saleh House, and the Primary School within. Great work is going on within UPDF units including the SFC.

One has to leave one’s hat at the entrance of an Army Officer's Mess, and I obliged. You can see my hat (pictured) hooked on the peg at the entry. That was after touring the facilities. The rest of my afternoon ebbed away so quickly that I never even took notice of the time. We had a great time with some of my long-lost comrades at a Mess stuffed with all tribes of drinks at a fraction of the price tags in our Kampala watering holes.

I arrived back at the airport to check in at 8.00 pm and was told point blank that Qatar Airlines had finished checking in. I was gobsmacked! I could see the crew of my flight checking in as they always do, after everyone else. Thanks to the intervention of my earlier hosts, I was allowed to check in with the Qatar Crew and finally boarded.

We took off soon after and I managed to connect DOHA /HEATHROW arriving in good time to cast my vote.

My choice for MP- of my Constituency Barking & Dagenham is Nesil Caliskan, the current leader of Enfield Council and the choice for Prime Minister is none other than Sir Keir Starmer.

What is Polling Day like in the United Kingdom?

Like any other day! It is a working day as has always been. There is no heightened security presence on the streets or anywhere except cyber security. There is no queue anywhere. If you opt to walk in, you present your ID, get handed a ballot paper, walk to a booth, tick & place it in a box, and walk away. Because there are other options of voting including proxy, post office, etc., there is no need for crowding at polling stations. In any case, the voter has 14 hours designated for physical voting, 7.00 am to 10.00 pm. You can cast your vote as you go to work or on your return from work.

All electoral complaints if any are handled legally, without any cause for violence. I hope we, in countries like my own [Uganda], will someday arrive at this utopia.

What are the key issues in this general election of 2024?