'We want a district before polls'

Residents of Tororo County in Tororo district have vowed not to have joint elections for the positions of District Woman Member of Parliament and district LC5 seats with their counterparts from West Budama unless the question of the district is resolved.

In their petition dated August 30, addressed to President Yoweri Museveni, the petitioners expressed their prayer that the county is granted full district status and autonomy.

The quest by the residents for autonomy began in 1998 over alleged marginalisation in resource allocation by the majority of their counterparts from West Budama.

They requested that the planned elections for the position of district Woman MP and chairperson be stayed until the issue is resolved. They also want Tororo Municipality to be recognised and managed as a separate district.

They said they held a meeting in Kisozi, Gomba district with President Museveni on May 30, 2017. It is in this meeting, they said, that the President directed that the election of Tororo district LC5 be stayed until the district is divided. They said they have now resolved to have Tororo county as a district.

The residents said the district should be divided into two districts, which should consist of the greater West Budama county (West Budama North, West Budama South, West Budama central and West Budama North East). They said Tororo County should consist of Tororo South County, Tororo Municipality, and Tororo North County.

The resolution was unveiled by Tororo South MP Fredrick Angura, during a press briefing on Monday.

The President in December last year endorsed the operation of the NRM district branch office for Tororo county, which is parallel to the NRM district's main office.

Annette Nyaketcho, the Tororo North County MP, said they would rather boycott the elections than participate in an election that will be dominated by one side because of their big numbers.

She wondered how they can grant them a district without instruments of power, saying they need the Government to pronounce itself on the meaning of a political district.

Diana Ojaka, an aspirant for the Tororo district Woman MP seat, said some of them are NRM party diehards but have opted to contest as independents because she was not certain which office is going to handle the party primaries.

She said some of them are not being allowed to conduct campaigns from West Budama, a situation that signals that they are not one in any way. New Vision could not independently verify Ojaka's claims, by press time.