ANKOLE LEADERS WANT PRESIDENT M7 OUT BEFORE NEW ELECTIONS; UGANDANS WANT CHANGE, POWER LIES IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE; PEACE AND UNITY ARE OUR STRENGTH They say this is intended to prevent Mr Museveni from using public resources to gain undue advantage over his rivals during an election. BUSHENYI Local government leaders from all the 10 districts of Ankole have supported the call for electoral reforms and proposed that the President should leave office before standing for re-election. They said the President should serve out his term but hand over office to the Chief Justice who must organise the presidential elections within the first six months. The Ankole sub-region leaders said this is intended to prevent the incumbent President M7 from using public resources to gain undue advantage over his rivals during an election. However, there were some dissenting voices to this proposal. These were part of about 20 electoral reforms proposed during a two-day consultative conference on free and fair elections that ended on Tuesday in Bushenyi Town. It was convened by Western Ankole Civil Society Forum. The regional consultative forum drew about 300 local government and non-government leaders from the 10 districts that make up Ankole, the birth place of President Museveni. The districts are: Bushenyi, Sheema, Rubirizi, Mbarara, Buhweju, Ntungamo, Isingiro, Ibanda, Kiruhura, and Mitooma. Local MPs in the host district of Bushenyi, Michael Mawanda (Igara East MP) and his Igara West counterpart Raphael Magyezi did not attend but were represented by their personal assistants. The Ankole leaders also called for removal of the army, resident district commissioners and district internal security officers from the electoral process. Security personnel have been involved in previous elections on account that they are reinforcing police to ensure peace and order, an act that has been condemned by the Opposition parties and election monitoring civil society groups. The district leaders further proposed the creation of a local council verification committee representing all the political parties to scrutinise the voters register. They said the voters register should be displayed at notice boards in all local villages. Early this year, civil society activists and Opposition political parties launched a campaign for “free and fair elections,” to mobilise Ugandans to demand electoral reforms ahead of the 2016 general elections. The Ankole leaders reiterated the proposal of the Opposition parties and civil society that the President should not appoint members of the Electoral Commission (EC). They said the EC members should serve only one five-year term which should begin in a year of the new government. They further held that vacancies in the EC should be advertised and a vetting body composed of judges, civil society and religious leaders should evaluate the candidates. They also want the name of the EC changed to Independent Electoral Commission. “It’s a responsibility of Ugandans to have democratic elections and this must be a shared vision by all parties,” said Mr Leonard Okello, programmes director of the National NGO Forum, one of the organisers of the conference. Mr Emmanuel Karasi, the Speaker of Bushenyi District Council, advised leaders to ensure transparency and accountability within their political parties besides proposing electoral reforms. “As leaders in our political parties, we have not held ourselves accountable. We have actually not identified our internal challenges and sorted them out but want it quickly done elsewhere,” said Mr Karasi The Ibanda District vice chairman, Mr Amon Mwijukye, said Ugandan leaders are serving under the multiparty dispensation and must adhere to the principles of democratic pluralism in the election period. The conference selected 72 delegates to attend the national consultations in Kampala next month, finalise the draft resolutions and present them to Parliament for consideration.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 07:41:03 +0000
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