JEEMA president joins race for Bugiri Municipality seat

Apr 27, 2018

Basalirwa said his struggle to join Parliament is all about the need to make Uganda a better place by defending the values he believes in such as human rights and the rule of law

PIC: JEEMA president Asuman Basalirwa. (File photo)

POLITICS

Justice Forum (JEEMA) President Asuman Basalirwa has joined the parliamentary race for the newly created Bugiri municipality in eastern Uganda.

Basalirwa said when the electoral commission rolled out the programme for the elections in the new municipalities recently, he decided to participate.

"I am already on the ground and I have informally discussed this with my colleagues in the Democratic Party, including Muwanga Kivumbi, Mathias Mpuga and Erias Lukwago," he said.

Basalirwa, a lawyer, who has featured in a number of public interest cases including the 2016 election petition that challenged President Yoweri Museveni's election victory, said he will contest on his party ticket.

This will not be Basalirwa's first time to contest for a parliamentary seat in the district. In 2016, he vied for the post in Bukoli North Constituency, although he lost.

But since Bugiri Municipality which is peri-urban has been carved off Bukoli North where Basalirwa garnered the highest number of votes, he says he has already clinched election victory.

Basalirwa will face off with several other prominent politicians in the district, including former Bugiri LC5 chairperson Haji Siraje Lyavala and Fred Okecho both from the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

NRM primaries that will determine the flag bearer in the race are scheduled for next month, according to a roadmap released by the electoral commission chairperson, Tanga Odoi.

The roadmap shows that nominations of the candidates in the party primaries will be held on May 7 after which the successful nominees will go for joint campaigns effective May 10.

Basalirwa, a former guild president of Makerere University, said if he wins the race, he will join his colleagues Gerald Karuhanga and Odonga Otto who are already in Parliament.

He added that his struggle to join Parliament is all about the need to make Uganda a better place by defending the values he believes in such as human rights and the rule of law.

 "I have stood for these values since time in memorial when I was a students' leader at Kiira College Butiki, Mwiri College and even at Makerere University as a Guild president," Basalirwa said.

The election in Bugiri Municipality comes at the time the opposition political parties in Uganda have just clinched victory in a parliamentary race in the Jinja East constituency.

In Jinja East, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC's) Paul Mwiru defeated NRM's Nathan Igeme Nabeta. Basalirwa said the morale they have after the Jinja victory will give them mileage in Bugiri Municipality.    

 

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