5 presidential candidates yet to get EC campaign cash
Nov 11, 2010
ONLY three out of the eight presidential candidates have received the sh20m facilitation from the Electoral Commission (EC) to be used during campaigns.
By Joseph Maseruka
and catherine Bekunda
ONLY three out of the eight presidential candidates have received the sh20m facilitation from the Electoral Commission (EC) to be used during campaigns.
These are Samuel Lubega, an independent, Olara Otunnu of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) and Abed Bwanika of the People’s Development Party (PDP).
“The commission awaits the submission of account numbers and related bank details by the other five candidates in order to process their facilitation,†said EC chairman Eng. Badru Kiggundu.
“Maybe they don’t need the money,†he added.
The incumbent, Yoweri Museveni of the ruling National Resistance Movement, Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change and Olive Beti Kamya of the Uganda Federal Alliance are yet to submit their bank details.
Others who have not yet handed in their details are Norbert Mao of the Democratic Party and People’s Progressive Party candidate Jaberi Bidandi Ssali.
The eight presidential candidates entered their second week of campaigns without the mandatory sh20m facilitation being given to each of them.
Kiggundu said each of the candidates must forward a recipient of the money and an account. The account must be that of the political party represented.
“An independent candidate is allowed to give in his personal account. All this is done for accountability purposes,†Kiggundu stated.
He said the commission’s role was to compile the presented information and send it to the finance ministry, which will authorise the Bank of Uganda to remit the money to the respective accounts.
He noted that it is not automatic that the money will be released as soon as one fulfills the requirements, since the matter is handled by different departments.
“Contesting for the presidency is no joke. One needs billions of shillings. What is sh20m if they have not picked it?†he said.
The commission, Kiggundu added, had asked for an additional sh70b to effectively complete the electoral process.
The commission has been getting sh198b for the last three years.
He said their work was enormous, since the elective posts for the 2011 elections are far more than the 100,000 that existed in the 2005/2006 elections.
He attributed the increase to the creation of new districts, municipalities and sub-counties.
and catherine Bekunda
ONLY three out of the eight presidential candidates have received the sh20m facilitation from the Electoral Commission (EC) to be used during campaigns.
These are Samuel Lubega, an independent, Olara Otunnu of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) and Abed Bwanika of the People’s Development Party (PDP).
“The commission awaits the submission of account numbers and related bank details by the other five candidates in order to process their facilitation,†said EC chairman Eng. Badru Kiggundu.
“Maybe they don’t need the money,†he added.
The incumbent, Yoweri Museveni of the ruling National Resistance Movement, Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change and Olive Beti Kamya of the Uganda Federal Alliance are yet to submit their bank details.
Others who have not yet handed in their details are Norbert Mao of the Democratic Party and People’s Progressive Party candidate Jaberi Bidandi Ssali.
The eight presidential candidates entered their second week of campaigns without the mandatory sh20m facilitation being given to each of them.
Kiggundu said each of the candidates must forward a recipient of the money and an account. The account must be that of the political party represented.
“An independent candidate is allowed to give in his personal account. All this is done for accountability purposes,†Kiggundu stated.
He said the commission’s role was to compile the presented information and send it to the finance ministry, which will authorise the Bank of Uganda to remit the money to the respective accounts.
He noted that it is not automatic that the money will be released as soon as one fulfills the requirements, since the matter is handled by different departments.
“Contesting for the presidency is no joke. One needs billions of shillings. What is sh20m if they have not picked it?†he said.
The commission, Kiggundu added, had asked for an additional sh70b to effectively complete the electoral process.
The commission has been getting sh198b for the last three years.
He said their work was enormous, since the elective posts for the 2011 elections are far more than the 100,000 that existed in the 2005/2006 elections.
He attributed the increase to the creation of new districts, municipalities and sub-counties.