NRM meets EU election monitoring team

A delegation of NRM officials led by the Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba yesterday met the representatives of the EU Election Monitoring team at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala.

The EU nine-man delegation led by Eduard Kukan is here to assess the progress in the implementation of the recommendations made by the team during the 2016 presidential and parliamentary Elections.

Kukan was the Chief Observer of EU team in.2016.

According to a press statement from the NRM, Lumumba briefed the team on a number of steps being taken by the government in conformity with some of the recommendations.

She called upon the EU team to always put in mind the Uganda topography adding that some gaps in delivery of electoral materials was mainly as a result of the hard to reach areas.

This, she explained, is partly the reason for the continuing split of administrative units in the country.

She emphasised that the set up of new local government units is not intended to benefit NRM but get the services closer to the population.

Lumumba noted that such creations are also meant to respond to public demands ranging from ethnic tensions, and traditional or cultural tensions.

On the issue that the 'A' level academic requirement was discriminative Lumumba said noted that those who fall below this requirement have an opportunity to participate in other lower levels where no education requirements are implied.

She emphasised that the roles of a member of parliament require a reasonable level of education to play oversight roles and monitoring of government programmes.

Lumumba warned that some recommendations would cause a constitutional crisis if pursued as recommended.

On the current political situation in the country, she said that the situation was stable save for the challenges of control and monitoring of the impact of social media era that has posed a challenge in information management, dissemination and control not only to the NRM but on the entire political terrain.