No Local Council elections until 2011
Apr 17, 2009
Village and parish council elections will not be held until 2011, the Local Government minister has said.
By Jude Kafuuma
Village and parish council elections will not be held until 2011, the Local Government minister has said.
“The local council by-elections are so close to the time when all political parties are preparing to hold primaries for the 2011 general elections. This may affect the democracy of the by-elections,†Adolf Mwesige said during a meeting with members of the Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) held on Thursday at the association headquarters in Kampala.
Members raised concern that the by-elections at village and parish levels had taken too long to be effected by the Electoral Commission.
A total of 1,468 posts fell vacant in 79 districts due to failed nominations in 2006, resignations, deaths and the creation of new town councils and sub-counties.
The Uganda Electoral Commission recently held a meeting with leaders of political parties and set April 7 and 8, as dates for nomination of candidates to contest in the by-elections.
The EC had earlier said it was impossible to hold the village (LC1) and parish (LC2) elections because there were no enabling laws, especially for the women and youth.
ULGA expressed lack of guidance at the local levels on the change of system of governance to political parties. “Ugandans decided to change from the Movement to political parties but the standard rules of procedures issued by the local government ministry in 2008 have not changed from those issued in 1998 under the movement system,†said John Wycliffe Karazaarwe, said at the UGLA meeting. Karazaarwe is the president of the association.
The minister urged district chairpersons to operationalise the association to check vices like corruption which has eroded the credibility of some local leaders.
Mwesige however, lashed out at leaders who promote political divisions because improved service delivery can only take place with a politically harmonised leadership.
Village and parish council elections will not be held until 2011, the Local Government minister has said.
“The local council by-elections are so close to the time when all political parties are preparing to hold primaries for the 2011 general elections. This may affect the democracy of the by-elections,†Adolf Mwesige said during a meeting with members of the Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) held on Thursday at the association headquarters in Kampala.
Members raised concern that the by-elections at village and parish levels had taken too long to be effected by the Electoral Commission.
A total of 1,468 posts fell vacant in 79 districts due to failed nominations in 2006, resignations, deaths and the creation of new town councils and sub-counties.
The Uganda Electoral Commission recently held a meeting with leaders of political parties and set April 7 and 8, as dates for nomination of candidates to contest in the by-elections.
The EC had earlier said it was impossible to hold the village (LC1) and parish (LC2) elections because there were no enabling laws, especially for the women and youth.
ULGA expressed lack of guidance at the local levels on the change of system of governance to political parties. “Ugandans decided to change from the Movement to political parties but the standard rules of procedures issued by the local government ministry in 2008 have not changed from those issued in 1998 under the movement system,†said John Wycliffe Karazaarwe, said at the UGLA meeting. Karazaarwe is the president of the association.
The minister urged district chairpersons to operationalise the association to check vices like corruption which has eroded the credibility of some local leaders.
Mwesige however, lashed out at leaders who promote political divisions because improved service delivery can only take place with a politically harmonised leadership.