The Opposition in Parliament has expressed concern over the delay by the Electoral Commission (EC) to gazette Elias Nalukoola as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Kawempe North, despite being declared the winner of the recent by-election.
Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, on Wednesday, said the delay was unprecedented, noting that in past by-elections, successful candidates were gazetted and sworn in within a short time.
“We are dismayed that up to now, the Electoral Commission hasn’t gazetted the person that won the Kawempe North by-election. We followed up, and they told us they are sorting out internal issues. We don’t know what that means because, in the past, this process has been done in record time,” Ssenyonyi said, demanding an explanation from the government.
Kira Municipality MP, Ssemujju Nganda, was the first to press Speaker Anita Among to explain why Parliament has not yet sworn in Nalukoola, pointing out past instances where some ruling NRM MPs were sworn in almost immediately after winning by-elections.
“Michael Mawanda (Igara East) was declared a winner and the following day, he was sworn in. As the head of this House, can you tell us when Nalukoola will be sworn in? Mawanda was sworn in within 24 hours,” Ssemujju questioned.
Speaker Among responded that she was still waiting for an official copy of the gazette from the Electoral Commission before proceeding with the swearing-in.
“When a member wins, I wait for the gazette. Once I receive it, that is when I swear in the member. I need to hear from the Electoral Commission,” Among stated.
The Electoral Commission is yet to officially comment on the delay, but the matter has raised speculation, with the Opposition questioning whether there are political influences at play.
The NUP candidate polled 17764 votes to beat his closet rival and NRM’s Faridah Nambi who got 8593 votes during the results announced by the Electoral Commission at their tally centre at Makerere University.
