JEEMA's Basalirwa demands equal share of political party funds

__________________

Justice Forum (JEEMA) president, Asuman Basalirwa, is appealing for equal allocation of Electoral Commission (EC) funds to all registered political parties in the August House during the election year.

Basalirwa, who doubles as Bugiri Municipality MP, made this appeal on Thursday (April 3) during an interface with EC officials led by chairperson Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama.

Section 14A of the Political Parties and Organizations Act 2005 compels Government to contribute funds towards activities of parties with parliamentary representation. 

This, according to the framers of the law, is aimed at facilitating the day-to-day running of these entities.

The law further mandates that every political party must annually declare to the EC all sources of funds and assets, ensuring full transparency of income and financial support.

“What the EC has been doing is to give the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and now, National Unity Platform (NUP), the biggest chunk using numerical strength and yet the law is very clear," said Basalirwa. 

"I have raised it with my lord (Justice Simon Byabakama). In the tenth parliament, I raised it, his lordship promised that they will behave in the last election, they didn’t.

“I want to find out whether this time, my lord, you are prepared to follow the letter and spirit of the law. Now that we are in an election year, I want to see how it is reflected in the budget and that was a specific amendment to the law," said the JEEMA leader.

"We specifically made an amendment on political funding in the election year. These other years it’s okay, the distribution can be on the basis of numerical strength."

Basalirwa vowed to drag the electoral body to court if it acts otherwise, a threat that left some of his colleagues, including the committee chairperson Stephen Bakka Mugabi (Bukooli North, NRM), wondering whether his party's war chest had run dry.

“Are you proposing that out of the sh45b (total annual funding to political parties), JEEMA also walks home with sh5b?” posed Mugabi.

In an amused room, Basalirwa clarified that he was looking at the bigger picture.

“I am talking about the law and there is nothing we can do about it. And my lord, I am looking at you with a keen eye," said Basalirwa.

Weighing in, Butembe county MP David Zijan, who is the informal whip of independents in Parliament, vowed to cross to JEEMA if this bears fruit.

Lion's share

In his 2022/23 financial year audit report, the then auditor general, John Muwanga, stated that sh44.9b had been released to seven political parties.

Of this, the ruling NRM and leading opposition party NUP pocketed a lion’s share of sh34b and sh5.7b, respectively.

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) got sh3b while Democratic Party and Uganda People’s Congress got sh908m each.

JEEMA and the People’s Progressive Party, which have one MP, got sh100m each.