NRM candidates receive Shs900m for LC elections

KAMPALA.

The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party has given Shs900 million to its flag bearers for Local Council elections due next week.
During a press conference at the party’s offices on Kyaddondo Road in Kampala yesterday, the NRM electoral commission chairman, Mr Tanga Odoi, said the money is meant to facilitate the candidates to pay their agents and other election-related activities.
He said the money will be given out at constituency level and each village will receive its share according to the number of candidates it has.
Mr Odoi said the villages will get their money through their respective Members of Parliament.
“We only secured little money for this exercise and we are giving it out in different portions. All the villages in the country will receive their share,” Mr Tanga said.
If the Shs900 million is shared among the 60, 800 villages in the country, it implies each village will receive Shs14, 800.
“This money will be used to hire tents, chairs, public address system, buy sodas, food and some other things,” Mr Tanga said.
The NRM Secretary General, Ms Justine Kasule Lumumba, told the press at the party headquarters on Kyadondo Road in Kampala last week that party MPs would be given money to facilitate the party’s flag bearers in the LC elections.
“We are going to spend Shs900m on organising constituency conferences at sub-county levels and every MP will get Sh3m, which will be spent on transporting our flag bearers, hiring tents and public address system for these conferences in their areas,” Ms Lumumba is quoted as saying.

Roadmap
Meanwhile NRM yesterday issued its roadmap for the party primaries for the upcoming elections of LCII and Women Council Committees and Arua Municipality parliamentary seat.
The party said five aspirants had picked forms to contest in the primaries for the flag bearer in the Arua Municipality race. The nominations will be held today and tomorrow and campaigns start on Monday Election is on July 17.
For primaries of Women Council Committees, the statement said: “The NRM electoral commission shall hold primaries at parish, sub-county/town council/division and district levels countrywide to elect flag bearers for Women Council Committees and LCII.”
The statement added that at parish level, the NRM will elect five flag bearers in the 8, 387 parishes while at sub-county level, primaries will be held in 1, 666 sub-counties/town councils/divisions and later proceed to the 122 districts. The exercise will close with primaries at national level.
Primaries at parish level will be on July 9, nominations on July 13 and elections on July 23.
Primaries at Sub-county level will be on July 27, nominations on August 1 and elections on August 3.
Primaries at district level will be held on August 4, nominations on August 8 and elections on August 13.