NRM wants presidential candidates to declare assets

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Resistance Movement (NRM) party has proposed that presidential candidates should be mandated to declare their assets and liabilities with the Inspector General of Government (IGG) before nomination.

The party also wants every presidential candidate to declare and file with the Electoral Commission a copy of their campaign budget at the time of nomination.

Justine Kasule Lumumba, the NRM Secretary-General made the proposals on Tuesday while appearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee that is currently collecting views on the five electoral reforms Bills tabled by Attorney General William Byaruhanga.

The Bills include the Presidential Elections (Amendment) Bill, the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill, the Electoral Commission (Amendment) Bill, the Political Parties and Organization (Amendment) Bill and the Local Governments (Amendment) Bill.

Lumumba’s proposals followed her support for the government proposal to amend the Presidential Elections Act and require candidates to declare their source of funds for financing campaigns.

Lumumba said that the amendment is necessary to curb interference in the country’s politics by foreign hostile countries or organisations but hastened to add that the candidates should also provide their campaign budgets as well as declare assets and liabilities to IGG.

Busiro East MP Medard Lubega Sseggona, however, queried why the NRM wants a candidate to be brought under the ambit of the leadership code when they are not yet a leader.

Meanwhile, the NRM party supported the government proposal requiring any party member to seek discharge from their party before running as an independent.

Lumumba says that this seeks to preserve multi-party democracy in the country and will prevent disruption and sabotage of political party strategy and activities.

Although Lumumba says the party is in support of the proposal, she says the law should define the procedure of how a person is discharged by a political party to prevent abuse of this section by political parties.

She suggested that a clause be included that prevents political parties from unreasonably and without lawful justification withhold or delay to discharge the candidate.

The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee Chairperson Jacob Oboth Oboth, however, noted that the Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana had conceded to calls by MPs on the committee to withdraw this proposed amendment last month.

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