People Power pressure group has in a bid to prepare for next year’s general elections dispatched it’s newly unveiled Elections Management Committee to kick start the process of identifying and vetting its flag bearers.
The exercise began with the Regional Coordinators’ meeting in Jinja where hundreds on various coordination Committees from the different levels from villages to the region attended.
The meeting which was chaired by People Power Coordinator for Eastern Regional Moses Bigirwa was also graced by a number of members to contest under the pressure group at the various levels from MP to the villages levels.
Hajji Musa Misango – one of the members of Electoral Management Commissioners said that subordinate Electoral Management Committees will be set off from the region to village level which will assist the Walukamba – led central committee recently announced by the group leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.
There was however some controversy when Misango said that membership on these committees would be reserved for only members with no intentions to run in the next elections with majority of the members protesting that I would leave out most of the members that have been actively involved in the struggle.
Ms Manjeri Kyebakutiika an aspiring Woman MP for Jinja City argued that leaving out people who have the struggle at heart just because they are interested candidates would create gaps in the mobilisation efforts since they know their areas more than others who would be appointed at the last minute.
” We need to remember that almost 80% of our active members have got political interests in next year’s elections. This means that outlawing their participation on the said committees would either cause human resource shortage or appointing wrong people, ” she told Watchdog.
Kyebakutiika also argued that candidates on these committees would also help bridge the financial and logistical gap since they would be willing to fund the struggle wholeheartedly.
However, Ronald Kagyerero – an aspiring MP for Kigulu South seemed to concur with the Electoral Commissioners when he argued that having political candidates loaded with electoral management responsibilities would breed in efficiency due to conflict of interests as one would be torn between feeding his individual political ambition and fulfilling appointment duties.
In response, Mr Misango proposed that a conclusive decision would be reached in consultation with the central decision makers from Kamwokya.
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