Will NRM retain Arua city Woman MP seat?

2021 ELECTION   POLITICS   

Arua city has five candidates contesting for the Woman MP seat in the 2021 general election.

They are Christine Abia of Alliance National Transformation (ANT), Hellen Achan of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and Sheila Obia of National Unity Platform (NUP). Others are Fabiola Annet Ezuma (independent) and the incumbent Mourine Osoru of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Arua city was carved out of Arua district, with Vurra County forming the current Arua district.

While the independent candidates are traversing the city soliciting support, they seem to have little impact in the race. This has left the competition between three candidates.

How did Osoru perform?

Osoru, who won the NRM primary elections with over 20,000 votes, is optimistic that she will retain her seat in Parliament.

Osoru won the 2016 general election using the phrase katcha, which means young blood.

She identified more with the youth by engaging in co-curricular activities such as football, especially the famous Onduparaka matches that brought fame to Arua city and West Nile.

Osoru also bought six ambulances for the then Arua district, which was her constituency and distributed them to different health facilities.

Osoru says she will lobby the Government for adult literacy centres and community-owned projects for women to fight poverty.

What Abia pledges

Abia says she is contesting again because the electorates say Arua city needs a person of her calibre.

She adds that the people voted her out due to her stance against social challenges such as drug abuse and parental negligence.

"Cases of mental illness are increasing in Arua, yet nothing is being done about it. This is attributed to drug abuse but people claimed I was wrongfully blaming them," she explains.

Abia says she will lobby for more classrooms in schools that accommodate over 400 students.

What Obia says

Obia says she plans to lobby for the proper demarcation of Arua city which is large and may be hard to manage for the city authorities.

She adds that landlords in Arua city are worried about their land, so she wants to lobby for support that can enable them to get titles before the city starts implementing its plans.

Voters' say

Dorcus Cengboth: The candidates should ensure that women form groups so that they can benefit from government programmes.

William Ondoma: The contestants should continue advocating for sufficient power supply for businesses.