DP to engage EC over ban on mass rallies

Jun 17, 2020

2021 ELECTIONS |

The Democratic Party (DP) President, Norbert Mao has said they are to engage the Electoral Commission (EC) over cancelling mass rallies in the forthcoming 2021 general polls.  

The remarks were made on Tuesday while addressing the media at the party headquarters, City House in Kampala.

Mao said the quality of elections will be compromised if campaigns are conducted via media because it will be against the youths who are not physically known by the masses but would wish to substantially interact with the public.


"We shall engage with the EC, for we must not compromise the quality of the elections. This system of campaigning via media will be against the able youth who are not known," Mao said.

Mao's remarks came shortly after the EC Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama revealed that mass rallies will not be allowed in the coming general polls but campaigns will be conducted through media.

"Mass rallies will not be allowed, so the commission will issue specific guidelines for each electoral activity under the revised roadmap in due course," Byabakama said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Prior, Mao revealed that the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) will sit and review the actions of individual independent candidates who abandoned the party and vied for elective positions.

"The NEC has resolved that any member who stood for elective office as an independent will have to apply to the NEC to seek a waiver before being allowed to be a candidate for any office in the party or as a flag bearer of the party in any election," he added.

He also applauded the High Court for quashing what he termed the illegal, capricious and malevolent actions of subversive elements in their party.

It should be noted that the High Court on Monday quashed the recent elections that were conducted by a section of DP members to purportedly fill up vacant positions in the NEC.

The vacant positions had been filled by Matia Lwanga Bwanika, as the National Chairperson, Busiro East MP Medard Lubega Ssegona, as the Secretary-General, MP Mary Babirye Kabanda, as the National Treasurer and Patrick Katuramu, as the Deputy National Treasurer, among others.

Bwanika is currently the Wakiso district chairperson while Kabanda is the Masaka Woman legislator.

However, the court quashed the said elections and positions on grounds that they were not conducted through consensus of the party's NEC.

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