Kampala-The speaker of Parliament Anita Among has cautioned candidates in the forthcoming East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) elections to refrain from bribery.
“Refrain from bribery, or any form of election malpractice. Let your manifesto speak for itself,” Said Among while briefing the media on Tuesday morning on preparations for the elections.
The elections are due to take place at parliament on Thursday this week. They will be preceded by campaigns which will be held on the same day.
Among confirmed that parliament is ready for the event which will start at 9am and each candidate will be given 7 minutes to persuade members of parliament to pick him or her
She also said that as parliament awaits the presidential address on Wednesday, candidates should be conscious of COVID-19 protocols as well as those to contain Ebola and assured them of conducive environment.
A total of 28 candidates were last week confirmed by the parliament’s verification committee to compete in the race.
These include the six incumbent ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, nominees namely; Rose Akol, Mary Mugyenyi, James Kakooza, George Odongo, Paul Musamali and Dennis Namara.
Others are Harold Kaija, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party candidate, Uganda People’s Congress’s (UPC) Fred Ebil, Justice Forum (JEEMA) nominee Muhammad Kateregga as well as Democratic Party’s (DP) Gerald Siranda.
The race also attracted 18 Independents including former Ngora Woman MP Amongin Jacquiline, former Buyende Woman MP Kadogo Babirye Veronica, Dr. Kapyata Dennis, Muwonge Daniel, Kiryowa Stella, Phiona Rwandalugali, Patience Naamara Tumwesirye, Bwengre Lauben, Kisembo Ronex Tendo, Bukyana Julius and others.
The law provides that the National Assembly of each Partner State shall elect, not from among its members, nine members of the Assembly, who shall represent as much as it is feasible, the various political parties represented in the National Assembly, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups.
Meanwhile, the National Unity platform (NUP) which is the leading opposition party in parliament is abstaining from the elections.
The leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LoP), Mathias Mpuuga accuses the ruling party of fencing six out of nine positions allotted to Uganda and meddling in the nomination of representatives of other political parties.
However, speaker Among insists that the elections are guided by the EALA treaty.
The tenure of the current EALA members ends on 17 December 2022.
