Ministry of Gender, EC start process for election of workers' MPs

ELECTION WATCH | WORKERS' MPs

The Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development (MOGLSD) and the Electoral Commission (EC) have kicked off the preparation for the election of the workers' Members Parliament.

The minister of state for disability and elderly affairs, Sarah Kanyike, said the process is already ongoing and all political parties need to take part.

"It is long a process that we are undertaking together with the EC. We want even those who belong to various political parties to take part. We want workers who are not part of the various workers' unions because it is not a must that every worker must belong to workers' unions," she noted.

Kanyike was addressing a national dialogue with political parties on provisions of the law governing the election of workers' representatives to parliament at Hotel Africana.

The event was organized by the MoGLSD in partnership with the electoral body.

Kanyike explained that unlike before where representatives were only elected by workers subscribing to different labour unions, this time even those who are not members of unions are to take part.

"That is why we have organized this dialogue to engage the political parties through the process and what they need to do to participate in the process," she noted.

She said the ministry shall compile the register for each sub-county which will be used by the EC to form colleges.

The in-charge of Political Parties' Unit/Legal Department at the EC, Samuel Kiyingi, said the election of 10 delegates at sub-county level will take place on December 4, 2020.

He noted that on December 11, the 10 elected from various sub-counties/town councils and divisions shall later converge at the district level and elect 10 delegates amongst themselves, who will also converge to elect another 10 district delegates for the regional conference.

Each regional conference will also elect 10 delegates making up 40 delegates from the four regions of the country to take part in the national conference together with others who subscribe to labour unions.

It is at the conference that workers' representatives will be elected to Parliament.

Kiyingi stressed that out of every 10 delegates, three slots will be for women.

He said one to qualify as a voter or for the nomination of candidates for non-unionized workers' delegates, must be a non-unionized worker, a Ugandan citizen, a registered voter on the national voters' register, must hold an employers' ID, an ordinary resident of the sub-county, town, division or city he/she seeks to vote to be elected as a delegate and must not be registered by any labour union.

He said the academic qualifications are not a pre-requisite for one to be elected as a non-unionized delegate.

Kiyingi said the EC shall publish in the gazette and local media nomination days, places and the time when candidates for non-unionized workers' delegates at each sub-county, town or division shall be nominated.

The permanent secretary MoGLSD, Aggrey Kibenge, said the new amendment of the Parliamentary Election Act, now allows non-unionized workers to also take part in the election of their representatives.

"Previously, these representatives were from the labour unions and elected by only workers registered with various labour unions. But they later amended the Parliamentary Elections Act to give a chance to other workers who are not registered in labour unions to take part in the elections," he said.

He said they are going to start registration of non-unionized members in various sub-county from November 25 -26 to come up with a register.

"We are going to send a team to every village to register those who are eligible as required by the law. This will help the EC to form an electoral college at every sub-county, town council or division," Kibenge explained.