Lukwago: “EC has no power to suspend campaign rallies in Kampala”

The Kampala Lord Mayor,Erias Lukwago has said the Electoral Commission has no power to suspend campaign rallies in the country.Lukwago’s remarks came shortly after the electoral body decided to suspend campaign meetings in districts and cities with high spread of covid-19.The districts and cities that have been identified are: Mbarara, Kabarole, Luweero, Kasese, Masaka, Wakiso, Jinja, Kalungu, Kazo, Kampala and Tororo.According to the EC acting spokesperson, Paul Bukenya, the suspension takes immediate effect.However, Lukwago said the power of suspending the campaigns doesn’t belong to the Electoral Commission but other organs.“In effect Justice Byabakama has declared a defacto state of emergency in Kampala and some other districts. He should be reminded that such powers are vested in other organs of state and not EC,”he noted.“We’re all concerned about the surging cases of Covid-19 infections but we must respect our constitution and avoid reckless and injudicious acts that are likely to drive our country into anarchy,”he added.At the start of campaigns the EC issued guidelines to be followed by candidates in order to limit the spread of covid-19.Among these was limiting meetings to not more than 200 people in order to enable the observance of the ministry of Health Covid-19 measures.However, the commission accused some candidates of holding their campaigns in a manner that violates the guidelines for the conduct of campaign meetings.