By Acaye Henry
The Electoral Commission has been permitted to organise the much anticipated Local council one elections.
This is after both parties in the case reached an out of court settlement on ground that an Election is a process and not an event that could be subjected to frivolous school calenders.
In December 2018, High court Justice Stephen Musota advised the petitioner a concerned Teacher James Tweheyo, the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General to carry out several consultations that involved all stakeholders to come up with an amicable settlement aimed at seeing the said polls being conducted.
This after Tweheyo sued the Electoral commission and Attorney General challenging the manner of conduct of Local council elections without including secondary school students ,teachers and examination invigilators who were currently at school writing and supervising exams.
Tweheyo had also claimed that the non-participation of senior six, senior five, and half a million senior four students in these elections was a violation of their right to vote that is enshrined within the Constitution.
However while appearing g before court today, Tweheyo’s lawyers led by Caleb Mwesigwa and the Electoral Commission lawyer Eric Sabiiti informed Justice Musota that they have opted to reach an amicable settlement in relation to the organization of the elections including withdrawing the case.
They settled that the elections are conducted in accordance with the Electoral Commission calendar or schedule, and that EC shall determine the manner of election activities to ensure that elections are held at a time fixed in accordance with the law.
They also agreed that the Electoral Commission shall put in place mechanisms to ensure the registration of eligible and willing students, invigilators, supervisors and scouts who may not have registered for purposes of participating in the local council elections.
The electoral Commission has also been ordered to pay costs to James Tweheyo.
