Raphael Magyezi, Minister of Local Government, has defended his decision to extend the term of office for Local Council One (LC1) leaders for another 180 days. Magyezi cited the Ministry of Finance’s failure to provide Shs50 billion to the Electoral Commission to organize the elections. He made these remarks during a media interview at Parliament, noting that the current term of the LC1 leaders was set to elapse today. The extension, according to Magyezi, was necessary to avoid a leadership crisis in Uganda.
However, several MPs protested the Government’s failure to conduct LC elections again following an earlier extension last year. Charles Tebandeke (Bbaale County) described Magyezi’s decision as primitive and barbaric. Tebandeke stated, “This culture of extension of terms in leadership is primitive, barbaric in nature and parochial. It is a dictatorial tendency which this Government is practicing. And it is a direct explanation and violation of human rights violations and people power mandate. And I think, by so doing, it is trying to buy time as we prepare for the general elections because LC1 cells are part of the tools, agencies which they use in vote rigging. And don’t be shocked when these elections are conducted after the 2026 general elections.”
Silas Aogon (Kumi Municipality) also criticized the postponement, questioning why the Government could not organize elections for LC1s, which would require minimal resources as voting would be by lining up. Aogon remarked, “It shows that we are a lazy country that doesn’t want to prioritize major things. You know that the LC1s are the people who settle our ground down there, because they are the eye of Government, they are the first face of Government, that is the first court of incidence. That is where everyone runs first, so, this is a matter of priority. Parliament should be given the leeway of budgeting and making sure that they put money to where they think there are real priorities. Why should we continuously extend the term of office of LCIs? We even made it simple that for LCIs, we don’t need to complicate it, let people line, where is the problem?”
The debate over the postponement of LC elections continues to highlight the tension between the Government’s financial constraints and the MPs’ demands for prioritizing local governance.
