EC rules out interim elections in new cities

The Ministry of Local Government has ruled out district chairpersons taking over the interim leadership of the seven new cities that will start operation today, but the controversy on whether there will be elections for interim leaders before February remains unresolved.

While the Local Government ministry believes there will be elections for interim leaders in the new cities, the Electoral Commission (EC) says there will be none.
The Ministry says the law bars the district leaders from assuming such powers.

The decision is a blow to the district chairpersons who had petitioned the ministry seeking to be allowed to take over the new cities until the next general elections in 2021.

Both the Urban Authorities Association (UAA) and the district chairpersons had petitioned the ministry over who should take over the leadership of the cities today.

The UAA suggested that all the seven municipal mayors during the transition should become the city mayors.

Mr Swizin Kinga Mugyema, the commissioner for local councils in the ministry, however told Daily Monitor that district chairpersons cannot become interim leaders of the new cities because they are still leaders of the mother districts.

He said for one to be elected the interim chairperson, one must first qualify to be a member of the interim council, which excludes the district chairperson elected by adult suffrage in the last general elections.

“The interim chairperson comes from the members of the interim council so there is no way that a district chairperson who has the remaining district running can become the interim chairperson of the new administrative unit. In the interim, definitely the leadership will be constituted by the people who are within the boundaries of the new city. The district would have become caretaker if there was no original immediate local government,” Mr Mugyema said.

“The guidance we are giving to our leaders in those local governments is that in the interim, people who are representatives from the different constituencies and whose electoral areas are now within the boundaries of the city they constitute the interim council and from amongst themselves they will elect an interim chairperson,” he added.

He said where the substantive district chairperson comes from a sub-county that has been carved to form part of the city, he will remain in the mother district until the next general elections.

“You can switch at the time of conducting general elections but not during the interim period. You cannot be an interim head of the city when you don’t qualify to be a member of the interim council,” he said.

Mr Mugyema said while the local government ministry will ensure the cities begin operations, elections of the new interim leaders is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission that must organise the interim elections.

Clause 187 of the Local Government Act provides that the Electoral Commission shall organise and conduct elections of the interim chairperson within six months from the effective date of the new local government unit.

“Now that goes to the Electoral Commission because the law states the election of the interim elections will be carried by the Commission under secret balloting. The Commission will have to see between now and up to the time of the next general elections if it will be feasible to conduct elections within the general provisions of the law.”

Asked what happens or who takes over if no interim chairperson is elected Mr Mugyema said they are hopeful that EC will not delay the elections for interim leaders.

“I don’t want to speculate that the Electoral Commission is going to delay to hold the elections because they are aware and they have got a communications that the new cities are taking off on July 1, 2020 so we expect them to be progressing with the effective date of the elections,” he said.

EC rules out interim elections
However, the Electoral Commission has poured cold water on organising elections for interim leaders in the new cities The EC said the time frame is too short.

Next general elections will be held in February 2021.

Mr Jotham Taremwa, the EC spokesperson, told Daily Monitor that they will only organise elections for city leaders in the next general elections in February next year.

“You know we shall not organise interim elections because the period falls in less than six months to the next elections. The law gives us powers to decide that. If it was more than six months, we would conduct election for the interim leaders,” Mr Taremwa said.

Asked who will lead the cities in the interim period before February, and whether that will not create leadership confusion, Mr Taremwa said “we shall study the law and see what it says.”

What district leaders say
District chairpersons, in a June 11 letter to the Local Government minister, said it is unconstitutional to elevate the leadership at the municipality to a city.

They argued that the interim leadership of the cities should be treated like that of other newly created administrative units as per the Local Government Act since a city is equivalent to a district.

Arua District chairperson Mr Sam Wadri Nyakua has said they might seek court guidance if the Local Government ministry does not resolve the issue of leadership in the new cities.

“If the confusion of the transfer of powers continues, we may need to seek court interpretation on the laws. We do not need a city based on sectarianism. The Permanent Secretary should issue the guidelines so that issues are streamlined,” he said.

Councillor for Vurra Sub-county in Arua, Mr Anguyo Pariyo, said the ruling NRM party is to blame for the mess because they have created too many administrative units in the country.

“Someday, these districts will become untenable. There should be no wrangles because Vurra County has not yet been created as a district, it remains under Arua District till Parliament creates it,” he said.

Mr Feni Twaib, the executive director for Arua District NGO Network, said the delay by the ministry of Local Government to issue guidelines has created confusion between the district and the municipality transiting into a city.

“When you are phasing out something, it should be in a proper way. The technocrats, politicians are all confused on what to do. This has created disharmony which may affect service delivery. The city is not for us to fight but for development,” Twaib said.

Local govt Act
The law. Section 180 of the Local Government Act states that composition of interim councils for newly created local governments in the case of a district shall include all members of the original district council representing the sub-counties and other electoral areas within the new district and in the case of lower local governments, all members of the original local government council representing the parishes and other electoral areas within the new lower local government.

It says if a new town is created where there was no immediate original local government, the district council shall continue to govern the town until the town is published in the Gazette and elections held.
·Where the chairperson or a member of the executive committee of an original council is a person who was representing an electoral area within the newly created local government, that person shall cease to hold that office.
·Notwithstanding subsection (1) a chairperson elected by universal adult suffrage shall have an option to remain chairperson of the original local government.
Election of interim chairperson
·An interim local government council shall elect an interim chairperson from among the members of the council by secret ballot.
·Unless approved by Parliament an interim council shall exercise the powers conferred on it for a period not exceeding six months.
·Where the unexpired term of the local government council is less than one year, the interim council shall continue in office until local council elections are held.
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