Electoral Commission gives parties Shs10 billion

Kampala- Six years after Parliament passed the law on political party financing, the Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday announced that it has released Shs10 billion to facilitate the organisations’ activities ahead of the 2016 polls.

In line with the amended Political Parties and Organisations Act, 2005, EC chairman Badru Kiggundu told journalists that only six political parties are eligible to receive a share of this money.

“The formula of distribution is prescribed in the law; it is on the basis of strength in Parliament. So if you have 20 members, we shall get the members divide by the total number of members in Parliament and then multiplied by Shs10 billion,” he noted.

NRM party treasurer Rose Namayanja Nsereko acknowledged that her party has received its share.

“We have already received Shs7.9 billion and this is depending on our representation in Parliament. It looks like a lion’s share but this is the law that was passed by the entire House,” Ms Namayanja said yesterday.

She said party structures will sit and decide how the money will be used. The ruling party has 259 MPs in the 386-member House, leaving the Opposition with 64. Independents account for 43, while ex-officios (members without voting rights) and army representatives having 10 each.

The Forum for Democratic Change has 37 MPs; Democratic Party 15; Uganda Peoples Congress 10; Justice Forum (Jeema) and Conservative Party with one MP each will share the remaining Shs2.1b.

Section 14A of the amended Political Parties and Organisations Act of 2005 mandates government to fund political parties.

Under this section, registered political parties and organisations shall be funded by government. The architects of the law insisted on numerical strength determining how the money is distributed to guard against briefcase parties with no headquarters or members taking advantage of the facility.

Mr Kiggundu said political parties which have already availed the necessary information, including bank account numbers to the Commission have received the money.

“We wrote to them; those who responded have received the money. Others are still having internal wrangles but we shall wait until the wrangles are settled to release the money, and each party will be required to provide accountability after the electoral exercise,” he said.

Last evening, UPC vice president Joseph Bbosa said he “will need to cross check with the party administration but I am not aware of any funding from government”.

Ms Alice Alaso, the FDC secretary general, said the EC had written to the party informing them that the ministry of Finance was due to release the money.

“I think they will send us the money, though by this evening (yesterday), we had not received it. This time the commission should be strict on accountability since we, as FDC, have been submitting our audited accounts yet the NRM, which received the largest amount, does not.”

Conservative Party president, John Ken Lukyamuzi, who is the only CP legislator, said while they have not received any funding from government, time is now for government to fund political parties.

Jeema Party president Asuman Basalirwa too said their party had not received any funding from EC.

Jeema’s only representative in the House is Makindye West’s Hussein Kyanjo.
“The request for funding has appeared in the last two budgets but government had been reluctant to finance the political parties. You cannot build a strong multi-party system with weak parties. The process of distributing the money must be done transparently,” Mr Basalirwa said yesterday.

Last week government wrote to political parties asking for their bank account details.

“EC requested us to formally write to them about our account details.We replied to their letter but we we have not heard from them,” Mr Basalirwa said.

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