Masaka City Mayor Florence Namayanja has been cleared by the Electoral Commission to seek re-election on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket as the nomination exercise for local council contenders kicks off across the country .
After being cleared at EC offices in Kizungu ,a posh Masaka City suburb Namayanja ,a former legislator said she wants to carry forward the fight to recover all titles of public land sold by her predecessors and also turn Masaka into a green city .
“ I have scored highly in keeping the city clean in the past five years by collecting garbage and also fighting land grabbers .So, public assets in Masaka are well protected under my leadership if I am another term in office , she said
Also nominated is Namayanja’s predecessor Godfrey Kayemba Afaayo ,formerly of Forum for Democratic Change(FDC) ,now standing on independent ticket .
Mr Herman Kafeero ,a city councilor for Kimaanya Ward was also nominated on NUP ticket and promised to ensure that youths in his area of Kimaanya where he needs to represent the city council gets jobs.
However , in Nyendo Mukungwe Municipality ,some councillors that were nominated to contest on NUP ticket are crying foul after the members that were nominated found that other people had been duly noted by EC on NUP ticket yet they were not the ones that were cleared by the party headquarters. Among these is Esther Mutesi who was vying for Nyendo Ward . She claims that by the time she arrived at the EC offices ,the city deputy mayor Achilles Mawanda had already been nominated in her position .
In Mpigi District ,NUP candidates with the exception of the district chairperson nominee, were not nominated today . According to Mr Evarist Twinomujuni, the Mpigi District EC Returning Officer, he has not received the official list of NUP flag bearers or the names of the registrars authorized to stamp on their nomination forms.
While nominations for other parties and independent candidates went on as scheduled, NUP’s known registrars in the districts , Jack Johel Lule and Smark Moses Masembe, advised their candidates to wait for the final, authorized list of flag bearers . We advise our flag bearers to use this time to get their documents verified by the Electoral Commission to avoid last minute rush .
In Wakiso District , nomination exercise kicked off well with focusing on aspirants in Entebbe Municipality , Makindye/ Sabagabo and Busiro North Constituency ,according to EC district Mr Tolbert Musinguzi .
Among the first candidates who expressed interest yesterday is Mr Ibrahim Ssekandi, a councillor eying councilor seat for Seguku Parish at Wakiso District . Ssekandi was initially denied NUP party but later the officials at party headquarters revised the list and gave him the ticket.
However, despite the offer, Ssekandi had already moved on to join the newly formed People’s Front for Freedom (PFF)
“The goal is serving people regardless of the party. I’m going to remain in PFF because NUP never valued by contribution ,” he said.
Ms Ketty Namuddu, a member of NUP was nominated to vie for Ndejje Parish councilor seat . This has asked the her electorate for re-election, pledging to serve the wholeheartedly.
Members of the ruling Nationally Resistance Movement (NRM ) in the district on the other hand are on a cloud nine following denial of NUP flags to many incumbents. They say, it’s an opportunity for them to reclaim victory in Wakiso, where many of the positions were in the previous election swept by NUP candidates .
In the island district of Kalangala , with at least five candidates successfully been nominated by 1 : 30 p.m.
The process, however, moved at a slow pace. On average, each candidate took close to 30 minutes before being officially declared nominated, a situation that electoral officials attributed to the new digital system being used.
Kalangala District Returning Officer Ronald Agaba confirmed the delays.
“The Electoral Commission developed a system where we upload all the data of nominees. It has some issues that caused a slight delay, but overall, the exercise has gone on smoothly,” he explained.
In Mukono District , over 30 candidates had been nominated for various local government positions by 2pm . Some of them include Francis Lukooya Mukoome LCV chairperson (NRM), Yeeko Sassira direct councillor Nsuube Kauga-Namumira Anthony( Independent), Richard Senyonga for Namataba Town Council (NRM), Majara Nsubuga PWDs representative at the district ( independent), Christine Namboowa who was denied an NUP card, for woman direct councillor Nakisunga sub-county ( now contesting as independent) Ramazan Muslim Tambula for Mpatta sub-county (independent) and others.
Mukoome has promised to boost development in the district noting that since 2015 when he left the same office (District chairperson ) there has not been good development especially in education, health and infrastructure.
“All the machines that were procured for water are being hired out and not benefiting the district at all. I promise to deliver when I am given another chance .
The exercise continues tomorrow and Friday with many hopefuls presenting their academic qualifications to get nominated