UPC wants gov’t to ‘borrow’ funds for 2021 polls

Kampala – Uganda People’s Congress [UPC] party led by the Lira Municipality MP, Jimmy Akena has told government to look for money for the forthcoming general elections.

The UPC plea comes less than a month when Finance Ministry and the Electoral Commission [EC] are engaged in a discussion over funds ahead of 2021 polls.

“As a country, we are very much pleased in 2018 when our Independent Electoral Commission released the road map for 2021 and local government polls,” Akena’s led party said, on Wednesday.

“However, when the electoral commission appeared before the committee on legal and parliamentary affairs recently, it emerged that there are not enough resources to carter for all the stages of the road map and it was [EC] later asked by the Ministry of Finance to cut its budget,” UPC added in a press statement signed by party spokesperson, Micheal Osinde Orach.

According to UPC, it means that the commission has to forego some activities, adding that: “This only delays the implementation of the scheduled work and makes the process very expensive in the end, but it also affects the credibility of the electoral process.”

In 2018, EC released its road map covering 2021 in which it projected that elections from the President to the local council would cost an estimated shillings 868 billion.

In late January, 2020, while appearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said he had directed EC to cut its “budget and come up with a new spending estimate” before the end of the month of January.

Mr Matia told the Committee then that government is struggling financially and has got “no money” for EC’s colossal budget.

Now, the UPC party known for advising the current government, during its Wednesday press conference in Kampala, advises:

“Uganda People’s Congress calls upon government to scout for all the necessary funds both internally and externally so that the Electoral Commission can fully execute its electoral activities without any excuse! This is a big reminder that we should limit creating new districts, constituencies and administrative units as they emerge with huge financial cost, which sometimes we are failing to meet and thus leading the country to fall into debts for the self-created problems.”

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It adds: “UPC calls upon government to prioritize funding political parties and national dialogue process to enhance peace and security during this forthcoming electoral season.”