M7 Summons NRM CEC Over 2021 EC Roadmap

By Our Reporter

The NRM Central Executive Committee -CEC chaired by President Yoweri Museveni is expected to sit soon to discuss modalities of how to fulfill the guidelines as stated by the National Electoral Commission.

The commission chaired by Justice Simon Byabakama on Tuesday declared a revised electoral roadmap as the country heads towards the 2021 general elections. In this program, the EC banned all political rallies involving meeting people physically and instead declared a scientific election where candidates will have to use the media to reach out to the voters.

The roadmap came as political parties including the ruling NRM were gearing up to hold internal party primaries to identify their flag bearers. The NRM recently adopted a new method of voting by lining behind candidates, but the outbreak of Corona virus has affected all such plans. Sources in the party told us that following the release of the roadmap, the NRM SG Justine Kasule Lumumba is polishing up papers to be tabled before the president who is supposed to call members of CEC to decide a way forward.

“Unless things change otherwise, we expect CEC to sit soon not later than next week. The purpose of this meeting is to help decide the way forward following the EC roadmap release. It is a tricky situation because a s a party, we were gearing up for primaries where people were going to line behind candidates. We now need new advice” a source revealed, adding that when CEC decides, this is when the party will go ahead and hold its ‘primaries’.

POSSIBLE OPTIONS

Senior party members in NRM NEC have revealed that the CEC has two options now if the EC program is to be followed. One possibility is that the party chairman uses his powers to rally CEC to ask all intending candidates to forward their expression of interest papers to the CEC so that it vets and recommends/selects a particular candidate.

“CEC has those powers to vet candidates and recommend them for any office. The only challenge however, is that the National Conference also cannot sit as of now to confirm those names as proposed by CEC. Therefore, if CEC picks those names, a scientific National conference can be held and the flag bearers are confirmed” a source explained, adding that under this arrangement, no campaigns or voting would take place.

The second option is for the president to declare that status quo remains at all levels. This would imply that all incumbents would retain their positions in all NRM organs. This would mean that even those flag bearers who lost to opposition in 2016 would automatically become the 2021 flag bearers.

“The challenge is that the president is aware that most of the MPs have lost support. Therefore, giving them the flag would mean loss of those particular seats in parliament. The only cure for this is for him to give them the flag but sponsor NRM- leaning independents to defeat them instead of the opposition. This would also help kick out rebel NRM MPs” the source explained.

It is not clear which method NRM is going to use, but already this anxiety has spread like wildfire among incumbent members demanding to know if primaries will be there or not. The incumbents prefer actual voting to selection.