By Johnson Kanyesige
Incumbent Local Council One Chairpersons in Hoima City have shared mixed reactions regarding the voting method of lining up behind the candidates or their portraits in the upcoming elections for Village and Parish administrative units which are set to take place between March and April 2026.
This follows a Tuesday announcement by the Minister of Local Government, Raphael Magyezi, who disclosed that elections for Village (LC1) and Parish (LC2) administrative units will take place this time round without any further postponment.
The Minister noted that the elections are critical to filling a governance vacuum that has persisted at the grassroots level with the exercise set to cover approximately 71,230 villages and 10,717 parishes across the country.
The Minister confirmed that the elections will be conducted through the lining-up system, as stipulated under Section 123, Subsection 2 of the Local Government Act. Now, speaking to Spice FM this morning, the City’s local leaders supported the lining system while others advocate for secret ballot system citing various reasons.
Tumusiime Bantebya, the LCI Chairperson for Kiryatete East Cell and Alice Kabatoro, the Chairperson for Kasingo cell have called for voting by secret ballot method saying it encourages a high turnout of voters. The leaders argue that some people fear to participate in the lining up method for fear of expressing dissent decisions which may escalate hatred and high handedness by those who go through.
On the other hand, Lawrence Tumwesige, the Chairperson for Kichamba cell and Kusiima Godfrey, the Chairperson for Kigarama cell are in support of voting by lining up method saying it provides increased accountability and minimizes on corruption tendencies during the exercise.
Meanwhile the Electoral Commission Spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi has assured stakeholders that the Commission is working to resolve outstanding administrative issues even as they transition into the next phase of the electoral roadmap.
