Elections for Local Council I and II will finally be held in January 2017, the minister of State for Housing, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, has revealed.
Mr Baryomunsi said that the cabinet and EC are all aware of the President’s directive to hold LCI and LCII elections in January next year, according to Daily Monitor.
A budget of Shs 37 billion instead of Shs550 billion proposed by the Electoral Commision had already been secured.
The election of LC officials will be voted by lining up behind the candidates as opposed to the secret ballot system.
Uganda has not conducted elections for LCI (village) and LCII (parish) for the last 15 years, the last one having been held in 2001 before the country shifted from the one-party Movement system to the multiparty system of governance.
Attempts to hold the elections in 2006 were thwarted following the Constitutional Court ruling on the petition by then opposition member of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Maj Rubaramira Ruranga (retired) who challenged the legality of the incumbent Local Councils following the country’s return to the multiparty political system,
He argued that the Local Councils which were elected under the discarded Movement governance became unconstitutional upon the country’s reversion to the multiparty system.
e argued that the Local Councils which were elected under the discarded Movement governance became unconstitutional upon the country’s reversion to the multiparty system.
The court upheld his petition and nullified the Local Councils and ordered fresh elections under the multiparty system.
However, due to financial constraints, the government has never held the elections although the Local Councils continued operating illegally to-date. Uganda has 7431 parishes and 57, 842 villages in 1403 sub-counties.
