ELECTORAL COMMISSION: Tax clearance not a requirement for elections

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Electoral Commission has said obtaining a tax clearance certificate from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is not a requirement for candidates hoping to participate in the 2020/2021 general elections.
Doris Akol, the Uganda Revenue Authority -URA Commissioner General recently urged all those intending to participate in the elections to use this period to obtain their tax clearance certificates to avoid inconveniences.

“I wish to remind those who plan to contest for political office in the 2021 elections, that this is the right time to streamline your tax information because the Electoral Commission will require you to prove that you have been fulfilling your tax obligations,” Akol said then.

However EC chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi told reporters at the Electoral Commission headquarters along Jinja Road in Kampala that unless the law is amended to allow for the tax clearance certificates, they will not be part of the requirements for the intending candidates.

“As far as I’m concerned we don’t have tax clearance as a requirement for those who wish to contest for any electoral position. If the law is amended, then we can implement it. But as for now we will not be asking for it,” Byabakama said while launching the nationwide display of voter’s register.

The EC also asked intending candidates who need to have academic papers obtained from outside Uganda and those who need to equate their papers to A ‘level to use this time for the exercise.

“The Commission wishes to remind persons aspiring for nomination as candidates for elective positions which require a minimum formal education of Advanced (A) Level or its equivalent, to prepare for submission of certified copies of educational qualifications confirming that they obtained a minimum formal education of Advanced (A) Level or its equivalent,” Byabakama said.

He added that aspiring candidates whose academic qualifications are equivalent to A’ Level, or whose academic qualifications were obtained outside Uganda will not be nominated without a certificate issued by the National Council for Higher Education in consultation with the Uganda National Examinations Board-UNEB.

“Such a certificate shall be obtained and submitted to the Electoral Commission at least two months before nomination day,” Byabakama said.

Meanwhile, the EC chairman urged MPs and other aspirants to bear with the commission roadmap in the preparation for the elections. A number of MPs had complained that the EC was going to carryout nominations in August yet elections are to be held in January 2021 hence prolonging the campaigning period way from the usual three months.

“We have almost one million electoral positions, the number of voters has increased and so many other things. Therefore if we are to hold elections on time we have to prepare early,” Byabakama said.

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