By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
Cabinet has approved the holding of elections for Local Council One (LC1), Local Council Two (LC2) and Women Councils, the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Chris Baryomunsi, has said.
Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday, Baryomunsi revealed that Cabinet, at its Monday sitting, endorsed a paper presented by the Minister of Local Government regarding the long-awaited polls.
“Cabinet on Monday discussed and approved a paper presented by the Minister of Local Government regarding the elections for the LC1, LC2 and Women’s Councils,” he said.
He added that Cabinet agreed the elections will be conducted in March and April this year, as part of efforts to harmonise the electoral cycle.
The term of office for LC1& 2, chairpersons expired in July 2023, but has since been extended several times. According to Baryomunsi, the extensions were aimed at avoiding mid-term elections.
“We did not want to have mid-term elections that produce local councils and then later change the election cycle. We are harmonising the cycle so that when we start with presidential and parliamentary elections, we move down consistently to LC1,” he said.
Baryomunsi noted that the Electoral Commission will announce the specific dates for the elections in due course. He urged prospective candidates and political parties to begin preparations.
Recently, the Minister of Local Government, Raphael Magezi, said the ministry, together with the Electoral Commission, is seeking sh58b to facilitate the exercise.
By press time, the Electoral Commission had not yet issued an official communication on the matter.
