ANALYSIS: Here’s what would happen if LCI elections were held

Since 2001, in spite of the country undergoing over three cycles of general elections, LCI elections have always been left out for no clear reason.  Many LC I officials are also happy to hold on their posts. However, some of them, like Samuel Kabuuka, the Chairman LC 1 of Lusanja village in Wakiso district, say a new election is needed.

Kabuuka, who has been in this position for the last 20 years, says the government should acknowledge that there have been changes in how councils are run.

He says the biggest role of an LC 1 is to arbitrate in village wrangles, especially about land.

“You must be seen to be honest and independent,” he says. According to him, 20 years ago they were voted into office not because of their political backgrounds but their ability to handle people’s concerns. He fears that under a multi-party system “service delivery will not be the focus of voters but whether the candidate subscribes to one’s party”.

“We used to line up behind candidates with no worries. I don’t know what this chaos of colours will bring,” he says.

Renowned historian and Makerere University don, Mwambutsya Ndebesa, says such fears show how polarising the LC vote has become.

“There is likely to be chaos and many will be denied their right to vote because of the intimidation and intrigue brought along by the method alone,” he told The Independent.

Mwambutsya says if the government really cared, their focus would be on scrutinising whether elections would be free and fair.

“Lining up behind a candidate is against popular democracy that the NRM campaigned on as one of their 10 – point programme,” he says. He adds that it is wrong for Museveni to remain silent throughout the impasse.

Logistical nightmare

But the elections are also a logistical nightmare with limited political value to the ruling party.

Unlike the 2016 Presidential, Parliamentary elections which were conducted at 20,010 polling stations across the country, the LC I election would require over 60,000 polling stations.

The LCI elections would involve electing nine-member committees for each of the 57,842 villages as per the 2016 elections data of the Electoral Commission.  The number could be even higher since new district have been created and the population of voters has gone up.

Statistics show there were 58, 677 villages and 7650 parishes as of December 2016. But in an interview, the EC Spokesperson, JothamTaremwa, said they are planning for 58, 171 villages and 7,510 parishes.  That means 506 villages and 140 parishes will still have to do with their old councils even when elections are held.

According to local government guidelines, a village should comprise of 60 households and a parish, 300 households. The population and housing census of 2014 puts the number of households in the country to 7.3million meaning that if local government guidelines were followed even a bigger number is bound to miss.

Logistically, whereas each voter in the Presidential and Parliamentary election required two ballot papers, each voter in the LC I election would require nine ballot papers – one for each position on an LC I council.

Taken together, these figures mean that LCI one elections give voters at the village level an opportunity to elect officials who impact them directly on a day-to-day basis.

The LC I is the administrative unit at village level. It is involved in maintenance of law, order and security, mobilising people for self-help projects, recruitment into the police, army, and other security agencies, and monitoring of activities undertaken in the area by the central government, local government, and NGOs.

In reality, the LCI is the first court in case of disputes, witnesses to transactions such as sell of land, house, cow or goat, and signatory on most official documents which require an LCI stamp.

These functions give the LC I immense power in the day-to-day lives of citizens. That is why, many people say, the NRM government could be unwilling to change the status quo in which most LCI officials currently double as NRM-party functionaries at village level. MwambutsyaNdebesa, is of that view.

“The majority if not all of existing LC chairpersons belong to the NRM and as such the ruling party is not in any hurry to change them,” he said in an interview.

Mwambutsya noted despite the agitation at the top, most of the population appear to lack interest in LC I elections. According to him, only the aspiring local leaders are concerned.

“It might be because the population is already disgusted, “he said, “The dialogue needs to change to increase citizen participation rather than politicking.”

Although President Yoweri Museveni has said on many occasions that he and his NRM party are very popular at the grassroots and the opposition has often failed to field candidates at many electoral positions, elections could spring up surprises.

Basing on this, many people say the LC I elections may not be taking place because they are the one major election in which the ruling party does not seem to have a plan of controlling and ensuring a clear win.

The government, meanwhile, has been pointing at the cost as the main cause of failure to conduct the election. Critics, however, say this claim is shallow. They point at how the cost has been dramatically cut without the government budging; from Shs500 billion when they were first mooted in 2013 to the current Shs15 billion. The Presidential and Parliamentary elections in February 2016, which involved electing only about 400 officials cost over Shs200 billion.

Critics of the “no money” claim of the government believe the Shs15.9 billion budget should be pocket change for the government.  This camp believes there is something beyond lack of funds that has held up these elections for over 10 years.  Some say the hidden reasons could be behind the government’s push to conduct the election using the discarded ‘lining up” method instead of the secret ballot.

“Government has always said there are no funds. I don’t know when we will finally hold them,” says Shadow minister Nambooze,  “It creates suspicion as to the motive of government on occasioning such delay if it is not deliberate lack of intent.”

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editor@independent.co.ug