Kampala: Political parties face deregistration over accountability

Stephen Wandera

The Electoral Commission (EC) has started the process of deregistering political parties over failure to account for funds given to them and being inactive. The EC has already sent letters to six parties, including that of former presidential candidate Abed Bwanika, asking them to justify why they should not be deregistered.

“Most of the political parties are not on the ground. We should see them during elections and check on government systems to help society grow. We need people who stick to the rule of the game. We have started the process to deregister parties that do not comply with the law,” Mr Charles Ochola, the EC spokesperson, told Saturday Monitor on Thursday.

“Even the big parties are yet to hand in full accountability,” he said. He, however, declined to name the parties. “We have written to them and we are still waiting for their response. Natural justices require that we hear from them,” he said.

There are 39 registered political parties in the country and so far only the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Democratic Party (DP), Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), Justice Forum (JEEMA) Conservative Party (CP), and Forum for Democratic Party (FDC) have made partial accountability.

The Political Parties and Other Organisation Act requires that political parties make yearly accountability to the registrar and commission and send lists of their executive elected during delegates’ conference to the EC.

Parties react

When contacted, the People’s Development Party (PDP) and DP admitted to delay in submitting accountability. “The law requires that government funds us but we are not. How do you expect us to account to you when you do not fund us? But all the same we always accounted to EC and shall do the same soon,” DP legal adviser Mukasa Mbbide said.

According to Mr Bwanika, the commission should give them time as his party has in the past diligently accounted for funds posted on its accounts. “We have accounted in the past and we shall do the same soon. Start with NRM, it is the party in power that has never accounted,” PDP president Bwanika said.

NRM spokesperson Mary Karooro Okurut said the party was working on its accountability but did not say when it would submit it in. “We are doing the accountability and we shall send it soon,” she said.

FDC official Nandala Mafabi said the party had not received any communication from the EC. “To the best of my knowledge we are the only party which is up to date (in accountability).” However, all the smaller parties we spoke to said they did not have any accountability to make as they never got funds from government or donors.

Source: Saturday Monitor (18/08/2012): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Political+parties+face+deregistration+over+accountability/-/688334/1481716/-/13a8s2tz/-/index.html