The ruling National Resistance Movement has started engagements with the Electoral Commission to allow their presidential candidate, Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhabulwa Museveni resume his campaign meetings but in a special format.
According to the NRM Vice-chairperson for Central Uganda, Godfrey Kiwanda the party Secretary General, Justine Kasule Lumumba has been asked to schedule a meeting with the Electoral Commission chairperson to discuss how the ruling party can resume campaign meetings but in a safe way.
“We have requested our Secretary General to talk to the EC chairman to allow us have our meetings even if not in those particular districts ( of Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono) so that we can be able to meet our people,”Kiwanda told journalists on Tuesday.
He noted that the ruling party can facilitate their party leaders and flag bearers to be taken to other districts in which meetings were not suspended where they can be met by the party presidential flag bearer.
“As NRM, we have not held rallies but rather meetings but we have asked the EC to allow us have at least a meeting for Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono even when we have not gone to those districts, probably to avoid crowds.”
The Electoral Commission last week suspended campaign meetings in Kampala and 11 other districts in the country owing to the surging Coronavirus infections and the continued violation of Standard Operating Procedures.
The EC spokesperson, Paul Bukenya told journalists that campaign meetings and rallies are considered to be leading the spread of the virus and therefore had to be suspended until further notice.
The other districts in which the campaigns were banned include Mbarara, Kabarole, Luwero, Kasese, Masaka, Wakiso, Kabarole, Jinja, Kalungu, Kazo and Tororo.
By the time the campaigns in the 12 districts were banned, Museveni who usually holds meetings with NRM leaders was only left with greater Mukono, Wakiso and Kampala districts.
President Museveni on Monday said he was not happy with the Electoral Commission for treating him like National Unity Platform presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi while suspending campaigns.
I don’t hold rallies but it seems the EC man (Justice Byabakama) had mixed me with the likes of Kyagulanyi and said ‘I have closed you’. God is watching. I have never held any campaign rallies and when I find supporters waiting for me on the roads, I just wave to them. Now that the EC man has directed, we all salute,”Museveni said.