Civil Society Organisations have proposed amendments to the electoral laws ahead of 2016 elections.
The EC chairman, Eng. Badru KiggunduCSO under their umbrella body, the Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) want Electoral Commission renamed the Independent Electoral Commission.
They have also called for a detailed process of identifying and selecting persons to be appointed as members of the commission.
The CSO propose that powers be given to the Judicial Service Commission to spearhead the process of identifying fourteen persons and recommend them for appointment to the EC.
They want the JSC to invite the political parties and organisations, the professional bodies or associations and the general public to nominate persons for consideration for appointment.
The constitution provides for members of the EC to be appointed by the President with the approval of parliament.
The CSOs argue that there is no clear procedure on the identification of the persons appointed as members of the commission which kills the trust among various stakeholders.
“Several participants in the process including g political parties and the general public need to be consulted when making selection of members to be appointed at EC,” the CSOs noted.
CEDU will on Tuesday unveil their proposals to Members of Parliament.
CCEDU has been part of various consultative discussions with different stakeholders on possible electoral reforms in the run up to the 2016 general elections.
In line with its advocacy work, CCEDU has drafted model amendment Bills and a briefing paper around the reform of the Electoral Commission of Uganda (EC).
Source The New Vision
