Nebbi voters put EC on notice over delayed polls

Uncertain future. Part of the main street in Nebbi Town. PHOTO BY FELIX WAROM OKELLO

What you need to know:

  • One of the prospective candidates, Mr Sulaiman Hashim, says the delayed election is retarding development.
  • According to Uganda’s National Population and Housing Census 2014 Provisional Results, the population of Arua Municipality is 62, 657.

Residents of Nebbi Municipality have vowed to hold a peaceful demonstration over failure by the Electoral Commission (EC) to hold elections.
Nebbi Town Council was granted municipality status about three years ago but elections of new municipal leaders have never been held.
And now residents, who argue that they are being denied their constitutional right to choose their leaders, say a demonstration is their only option. According to the law, EC is mandated to hold elections in a created entity within six months.
Mr Powel Ongei, a resident, says the delayed election of leaders has crippled service delivery in the municipality.

“Since Nebbi Town Council was elevated to a municipality in 2015, we have not been briefed by EC on when the elections will be organised. Government projects are not being monitored. Are we not part of Uganda? Why is government forgetting us that first?” Mr Ongei said.
The three divisions of Abindu, Thatha and Central do not have mayors, making supervision of municipality activities difficult.
On being granted municipality status, several people came out to declare their intentions to contest for several slots. Some even spent huge sums of money in anticipation that EC would soon announce the dates for elections.

One of the prospective candidates, Mr Sulaiman Hashim, says the delayed election is retarding development.
“The current councillors and the interim chairperson in Nebbi Municipality are operating illegally because they are serving beyond the stipulated time as per the electoral law,” he said.
When contacted, EC spokesperson Jotham Taremwa said they have already submitted a budget to government to organise elections for the municipality. Mr Taremwa added that once government releases the funds, elections will be held.

The acting mayor, Mr James Chombe Muchek, said: “I have not heard of any plan to organize election soon in the Municipal, but I will go and confirm from the ministry of Local Government when elections will take place. But it does not mean that we should not work,” Chombe said.
Pakwach and Koboko districts, which were granted district status last year have already held elections. For an area to qualify, it should have a population of 350,000 people. It used to be 500,000.
However, because there are a few municipalities with 500,000 the government reduced it to 350,000.It should have a master plan for land use. Such a plan could from time to time be reviewed to address emerging issues.

For the municipality to be granted city status, it must have office space.
It should also have water sources and be able to meet the cost of providing social services. According to Uganda’s National Population and Housing Census 2014 Provisional Results, the population of Arua Municipality is 62, 657.