Lack of civic education worries Masaka DP leaders ahead of 2021 polls

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Democratic Party-DP leadership in Masaka district has expressed concern about the lack of civic education ahead of the 2021 general elections.

The party says they have noticed a lot of inadequacies in levels of public awareness both among the electorate and several candidates especially those nominated for the local government positions.

Denis Lukwaga Majwala, the spokesperson of DP district council for Masaka indicates that many candidates especially the first-time contestants are stranded because they did not receive a prior orientation on the tasks that lie ahead of them.

He explains that the party has noticed several nominated candidates who are struggling to freely relate with the electorates because they were not sensitized about the electoral process.

Majwala faults the Electoral Commission for not considering civic education as a priority in their work plan, which could lead to low voter turn-up.

Majwala explains that the lack of civic sensitization about the electoral process has been manifested in some candidates struggling to identify the correct demarcations of their electoral areas especially candidates contesting in Masaka city.

“In some areas, the electorates are yet to distinguish between candidates of the different political parties, because they have not acquainted themselves with the latest shakeup and defections that occurred in political parties especially ours of DP,” he noted.

The party has challenged the Electoral Commission to find the time and utilize the different media platforms to conduct civic sensitization if they wish to conduct a respectable process.

He has revealed that the party leadership is contemplating initiating talks with other opposition politicians on how they can collectively press the Electoral Commission towards meeting its responsibility of voter education.

Article 61 (g) of the Constitution of Uganda demands of the Electoral Commission to conduct voter education before the general elections are held, to educate electorates on their rights and what they can do from the time the road map is launched throughout the whole polling period.

But Paul Bukenya, the acting Electoral Commission spokesperson indicates that they are doing all it takes to create enough public awareness about the on-going electoral process, adding that the cited loopholes are blamed on the sudden outbreak of coronavirus which interfered with their roadmap.

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