By Our Reporter
The Independent Electoral Commission of Uganda (IEC) has revised the programme for the nomination of candidates for Parliamentary Elections 2021 following pressure from Parliament.
Initially, the parliamentary aspirants were to be nominated on Monday, October 12, 2020 and Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
But now the EC has revised the dates to Thursday, October 15, 2020, and Friday, October 16, 2020.
The nominations shall be conducted at the respective District/City headquarters across the country, beginning at 9:00am and ending at 5:00pm on each of the appointed dates.
“The Electoral Commission urges all aspiring candidates in the above electoral process to carefully note the above revised programme and to prepare for nominations in accordance with the guidelines issued for the exercise,” Justice Simon Byabakama, the Chairperson, Electoral Commission, announced in a statement issued on Thursday, 08 October 2020.
Parliament had tasked the Electoral Commission to extend the nomination dates to allow members who want to change names or align their names through a deed poll do so without being hindered in the nominations.
The demand follows the failure by government to amend the Registration of Persons Act that would exempt married women who add names of their spouses from following the long process of a deed poll.
But on Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Jackson Kafuuzi told Parliament that the nominations could be extended because the Electoral commission had completed scheduling all its activities based on timing and plans, and further extensions would affect actual elections.
