By Arthur Arnold Wadero
KAMPALA- The National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) directorate of legal affairs yesterday revealed it has at least 645 petitions from their recent party primaries for flag bearers ahead of the national Electoral Commission nominations.Speaking to the media at the party headquarters in Kampala yesterday, Mr Enoch Barata, a member of the directorate of legal affairs at the NRM, said 455 petitions were filed by the party candidates vying for positions of MP while 190 petitions were raised by candidates at other lower levels, that is the Local Council 5, Local Council 3 and councillors.The recently concluded NRM party primaries were marred by electoral violence and malpractice, especially in some parts of eastern region and Ankole sub-region where at least six people are reported to have been killed and many others injured. Among those accused of orchestrating violence is the State minister for Labour, Mr Mwesigwa Rukutana. He is currently battling charges of attempted murder, assault, threatening violence and malicious damage of property. Mr Rukutana is accused of shooting one of his opponent’s supporters in the Rushenyi County election race.Many losing NRM candidates have since petitioned the party headquarters and the party electoral commission. The 645 petitions have not been heard yet the national Electoral Commission has set nomination dates for candidates in the 2021 general election.The EC has set September 21 to October 1 as nomination dates for local government candidates while MPs will be nominated between October 12 and October 13. Presidential aspirants will be nominated from November 2 to November 3. This, therefore, implies that petitions raised by a section of the NRM candidates have to be expedited before the EC deadline.The NRM secretariat yesterday said the party’s Central Executive Committee led by party chairperson, Mr Museveni, last Friday constituted a 20-memeber tribunal to expeditiously settle the petitions. Advertisement
“The national chairperson has in accordance with the NRM electoral regulations, constituted an elections disputes tribunal consisting of 20 advocates under the leadership of Mr Enoch Barata to expeditiously hear and determine all the election petitions,” the NRM secretary general, Ms Justine Kasule Lumumba, told the media.She added: “This will be done taking into consideration the timelines as set for the nominations by the national Electoral Commission.” She declined to name other members of the tribunal. Mr Barata’s tribunal set September 21 (today) to September 26 as the dates for hearing of petitions arising from the primaries for Local Council (LC) NRM flag bearers. The tribunal will then start to hear petitions for those contending flag bearers for parliamentary seats on September 26.NRM NOMINATIONSNRM nominations Candidates vying as MPs within Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso districts, will be cleared by Ms Rose Namayanja, the NRM national treasurer, while MP candidates in other districts will be handled by Mr Richard Todwong. “LC5s and councillors will be endorsed on behalf of the secretary general by the NRM Sub-county chairpersons and they already have stamps,” Ms Lumumba said. Ms Lumumba said the candidates at Local Council level will be nominated between September 21 and September 30 so that the party flag bearers meet the National EC’s set deadlines.
