KAMPALA, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The Ugandan Electoral Commission (EC) has refuted allegations that it deregistered exiled Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leader Kizza Besigye, and maintained that he has up to October 28 to register under the current photographic voter registration.

¡¡¡¡Besigye, who served as President Yoweri Museveni's doctor while fighting in the bush, was accused of plotting an armed insurgency and fled to South Africa after standing as an independent in 2001.

    EC Chairman Badru Kiggundu was quoted by state-owned Sunday Vision as saying that the voter register used in 2001 that bore Besigye's name was phased out, and that he had not yet re-registered under the new exercise.

    Kiggundu made the statement on Saturday after the opposition party FDC on Friday accused "the government and the EC have connived to strip Dr. Kizza Besigye of his voting right by deregistering him."

    Besigye, a former presidential candidate in 2001, now exiled in South Africa. If he did not register, Besigye can neither vote nor stand for any post in the 2006 general elections.

    Kiggundu said that "in an endeavor to enhance the credibility of the national voters' register, the Electoral Commission embarked on a fresh national registration of all eligible citizens of Uganda under the photographic voter registration and identification system in August 2001."

    "In effect, the text register used before August 2001 was phased out," Kiggundu said.

    He said that all elections and by-elections since January 2002 and the recently concluded 2005 referendum were conducted using the new register, which has been continuously updated.

    Meanwhile, EC spokesman Okello Jabweli said Besigye would have to appear and register in person, as the law requires him to do so.

    "The Electoral Commission Act requires registration to be in person. We don't yet have facilities outside the country for people to register. Ordinarily, we would be able to register people from outside but we don't have such electronic facilities yet," he said. Enditem