NRM women candidates blocked from meeting Museveni
President Museveni. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Mr Tanga Odoi, the chairperson of the NRM electoral commission, said he told the complainants on Wednesday to meet the President or the Ministry of Finance and the Electoral Commission (EC) to explain why elections were postponed.
Five NRM women parliamentary aspirants in the newly created districts were Thursday blocked from meeting President Museveni at State House Nakasero where they sought to present a petition over the suspended elections in the constituencies.
The aspirants were supposed to represent the party in the Woman MP elections in Nabilatuk, Bugweri, Kasanda, Kwania, Kapelebyong, and Kikuube districts, which were created during the 9th Parliament and became effective on July 1, 2018.
The candidates are Ms Slyvia Awas (Nabilatuk), Ms Judith Acola (Kwania), Ms Jacinta Atuto (Kapelebyong), Ms Rachael Magola (Bugweri), and Ms Nawilah Nalubowa (Kasanda).
The aspirants, who were blocked by security, said they wanted to know their fate since they had resigned their jobs in 2017 to contest in the party primaries.
“We resigned to prepare for the elections but to date, we are still jobless, bankrupt, and we have been reduced to begging just because we were used and dumped by NRM. Why is this party doing this to us?” Ms Awas asked.
“We have petitioned several offices to explain why elections in our districts have not been conducted but all in vain. We just heard news in the media that elections had been postponed but no one from NRM has explained this to us,” she added.
Ms Acola said she wanted to find out if the party would maintain them during the 2021 party primaries.
However, Mr Tanga Odoi, the chairperson of the NRM electoral commission, said he told the complainants on Wednesday to meet the President or the Ministry of Finance and the Electoral Commission (EC) to explain why elections were postponed.
“There is nothing we can do as the party to conduct elections. It is not our problem that government does not have money to conduct the elections. They should face off with the responsible people,” Mr Odoi said.
He, however, said if the EC fails to conduct the elections by 2020, he will seek guidance from the party’s Central Executive Committee on whether the women should be subjected to fresh primaries for the 2021 polls.
Efforts to reach Mr Museveni’s press secretary Don Wanyama were futile since he did not pick our calls.
