The State Of Uganda Shall Be In Charge Of Ensuring Peaceful 2026 Elections, Says Arua RCC
Asara Night of NUP having a light moment with Nyakua (2R), Kumakech (L), Byabakama (2L) and other EC officials in the new EC office on Monday (1)
ARUA. Salim Kumakech, the Arua Resident City Commissioner (RCC) has assured the nation that the State of Uganda will be in charge of ensuring that the 2026 general elections run peacefully.
He said nobody should think of causing chaos during the coming elections, warning that the State has enough capacity to deal with people who would wish to disorganize the 2026 elections.
Kumakech sounded the warning while presiding over the commissioning ceremony of the newly constructed West Nile Electoral Commission office block in Arua City on Monday, April 28, 2025.
The Shs4bn Arua regional electoral office constructed by the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) with the help of the UPDF Engineering Brigade, is the first office owned by the Electoral Commission (EC) across the country.
The office will be used as a regional center for coordinating election related activities in West Nile, including the 2026 regional electoral processes.
But during the occasion, Kumakech assured the EC team led by the chairman, Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama that the State of Uganda shall fully support them to ensure that the 2026 elections end peacefully.
“The State of Uganda shall be in charge of supporting you (the EC) to ensure that there is stability in the exercise you are going to superintend. And even if you want to domesticate it to Arua where I’m a stakeholder, nobody will destabilize the electoral processes that we have already started, nobody!” Kumakech warned.
He added that: “The security forces are here, if police is not enough by the element of manpower, they are always empowered by the law to request for support from the other agencies. And the political players are here, if you think your votes are not going to be enough and you want to cause chaos, what is your capacity to look through that chaos you are tending to implement.
So, the environment is here, the time has come, let us practice politics of brotherhood, let us practice politics of sisterhood and at the end of it all, the people that you are going to lead will say yes that is our choice, yes that is our preference.”
Besides, Kumakech noted that the government of Uganda would have wanted such similar infrastructure being commissioned to be in all of the regions the EC has in Uganda but it isn’t possible at the moment because the government works through planning which is a process.
He said it is a matter of patience, hard work and planning for the government to construct such offices across the country.
On behalf of the EC, Justice Byabakama thanked the government of Uganda for having funded wholly the construction of the office block.
“I further thank the leadership of the then Arua Municipal Council which is now a city and the leadership of this area, for the great support in identifying and granting the EC this space where we are gathered now. In a special way, I want to thank the contractor, NEC, with the Engineering Brigade of UPDF for the expeditious execution of this project,” Byabakama stated.
He reminded Ugandans that for as long as there is a nation called Uganda which cherishes the rule of law and good governance, there will always be elections.
And for that matter, Byabakama said the commission whose primary duty is to organize those elections shall forever exist until Uganda ceases to be there.
He, however, observed that in spite of its permanency, the electoral commission is housed right from the headquarters in other people’s properties or premises.
“It was therefore deemed appropriate to embark on acquiring our own premises across the country. What we have here, is therefore, our very first property as an office premises in the whole of Uganda. It is our sincere hope that what has been done in Arua city will be replicated in all the other 11 electoral regions of the country,” Byabakama promised.
Sam Wadri Nyakua, the Arua City Mayor, said they are going to ensure that the EC regional office block is protected so as to serve the purpose for which it was established for the whole region and the entire country.
Nyakua also used the opportunity to request for three more Divisions for Arua City so that services are delivered to the people without inconveniences.
Shortly after the function, Al-Hajj Abdulhakim Moli, the Commissioner for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), said as far as the office structure is concerned, it is nice but what they now want to see is whether the structure will be put to the right use.
“The structure alone can’t tell that the electoral activities here will be free, fair and credible. Much as Justice Byabakama has pledged that they are going to have free and fair elections, to me this is a statement which has always been there, it is not the first time that he is making such statements and does the opposite,” Moli said.
Meanwhile on RCC’s remarks, Moli said it is very unfortunate when they start getting statements like the State shall be in charge of elections forgetting that it is a full mandate of the EC.
“There is a difference between the electoral commission and the State, so it is very unfortunate when the State comes openly to begin intimidating political actors that they are going to be in charge – that means the EC is not in charge. Then this is a very unfortunate statement from the RCC which I request him to withdraw with immediate effect,” Moli demanded.