KAMPALA.
Cabinet has confirmed that administrative unit elections (LC 1, LC 2,
and Women’s Councils) will be held between March and April this year.
On Monday , the Minister of Local Government, Mr Raphael Magyezi, and the Electoral Commission (EC) presented detailed arrangements to the Cabinet for holding these elections before the swearing-in of President Museveni, scheduled for May this year.
Speaking to Journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on February 24, the Minister of Information and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, said the government wanted to harmonise the election cycle so that all elections are done at once.
“In my last briefing, I did say that the cabinet had a hint that we are going to have those elections, and yesterday (February 23), the minister for local government, together with the electoral commission, presented in detail arrangements to hold those elections,” he said.
Since July 2023, the government and Parliament have been extending the tenures of the local councils on several occasions in accordance with the law on the grounds that they wanted to align the cycle properly with elective positions.
“We did not want to have mid-term elections that produce local councils, and then later you have general elections, so we’re harmonising the election cycle so that when we start with elections from the level of presidential and parliamentary, then we do all the elections down to the LCs,” Dr Baryomunsi added.
On February 23, the cabinet considered the paper by the minister of local government and agreed that the local council elections and women’s council elections shall be held in the months of March and April this year. The electoral commission is expected announce the specific dates when these elections will be held.
Mr Magyezi said Shs56.9 billion will be spent organising the elections that will be held by lining up.
“All this will have to be done between March and April, and may spill over to early May, but in any case, ending before the swearing in of the newly elected president and members of parliament,” he said.