The Lugbara chiefdom (Lugbara-Kari) Prime Minister Mr Ismail Tuku has asked the government of Uganda and the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure peace in the January 2021 elections without letting it to be marred by violence, insults and unfairness.
In a media briefing at Arua Resource Center, Tuku urged Ugandans to desist from chaos and fights in which many people have already lost lives especially during this campaign period.
He cautioned clan leaders against getting involved in the process of generating confusion during the on-going electoral process other than playing a pivotal role in dialoguing the disagreeing politicians.
The prime minister also challenged security agencies in Uganda to practice professionalism during the campaigns as their role is to protect the lives of the citizens and their property and called for equal treatment of all candidates.
“We have learnt with dismay that in some parts of our country, some people lost lives and property. This is unacceptable and we don’t want to see this happen on Lugbara land. I know that challenges exist, but please treat all presidential and other candidates uniformly in order to achieve peace and to stay in harmony”, Tuku stressed.
He said peace on Lugbara land (in West Nile region) also guarantees the peace of people from other tribes living in West Nile, once the electoral process is not made like a war in the country.
In response to what Lugbara Chiefdom expects from the upcoming politicians, Mr Tuku said the chiefdom expects leaders to be upright, honest and reliable, urging them to speak out things that they can implement, once given the chance to be in office.
Tuku noted that there are some political in-fights on-going among some of the candidates in West Nile that he said have become an issue due to lies for the sake of winning the attention of electorates and warned such leaders against telling lies to voters.
In his remarks, Mr John Godo, the Lugbara Kari Minister for culture said a peaceful election creates a spirit of oneness after voting that leads to economic prosperity by fighting poverty among citizens.
Ms Martha Tiko, the Minister of Finance, Land and Environment requested the EC to act independently especially on Election Day by announcing results based on the truth so that the losing sides can easily concede defeat.
“I am appealing to the electoral commission to do the right things during the election. Whatever people will cast as their votes should come out truthfully so that they remain happy”, Ms Tiko said.
