The Electoral Commission has embarked on a nation wide exercise to nominate candidates for 45,127 elective positions at local government council level.
During the exercise that is running from September 21st to October 1st ,2020, candidates will be nominated for the positions of district, city chairpersons and councillors , municipality and city division chairpersons and councillors; sub county and town council chairpersons and councillors among others.
The total number of registered voters for the 2020/2021 General Elections is 17,658,527. The number of males is 8,439,564 (or 47.79%) while the number of females is 9,218,963 (or 52.21%), according to the EC Ag. Spokesperson ,Paul Bukenya.
Bukenya said that the nomination of candidates shall take place at designated venues which have been well advertised by the Electoral Commission headed by Justice Simon Byabakama and will be carried during weekdays beginning at 9.00 a.m. and ending at 5:00pm on each of the appointed dates.
EC says the District/City Chairpersons and Councillors nominations start on 21st Sept – 1st Oct 2020 at the respective District Headquarters, while Municipality/City Division Chairpersons and Councillors nominations will take place from 21st Sept – 1st Oct 2020 at the respective District Headquarters.
Sub County/Town/Municipal Division Chairpersons and Councillors nominations will also take place from 21st Sept –1st Oct 2020 at Tue respective County Headquarters.
“The nomination exercise will be followed by a campaign period leading to the polling days for the various elective positions (above), during the period January 10th – February 8th 2021,” a statement released by EC reads in part .
“All persons aspiring to contest in the elections are urged to familiarize themselves with the requirements for nomination for each elective position, as outlined in the Guidelines issued by the Electoral Commission.”
The EC has told aspiring candidates to pick copies of the nomination forms and the attendant guidelines from the District Electoral Commission offices in each district across the country, or obtain soft copies of the forms and guidelines from the Electoral Commission. Similarily , the EC has uploaded the national voters register on its website.
In a related development, the Electoral Commission has established a Query/Complaints Desk at the EC Headquarters to support the exercise of nomination of candidates for Local Government Councils Elections, which will start on Monday 21st September until 1st October 2020.
The Query/Complaints’ Desk will provide any required information to the public and to election officials, to facilitate the process of verification of aspirants or supporters on the National Voters’ Register. The Desk will also provide guidance on any legal issues and respond to general inquiries during the nomination exercise.
The Desk will have toll free lines to enable members of the public raise any issue related to the nomination exercise for expeditious handling by the Commission.
