Hundreds of residents in 12 villages in Acholibur Sub-county, Pader District, face being denied the opportunity to elect their Local Council I (LC I) leaders after discovering their villages were omitted from the Electoral Commission’s register, despite operating as recognised government administrative units for years.
Unless the omission is resolved, residents will be represented by leaders they did not elect, even though they have long participated in government programmes and their villages have officially recognised local leaders.
The affected villages are Opawao in Wiigweng Parish; Omeda, Adoo Central and Twon-Okun in Omeda Parish; Munutam in Ogago Parish; Tedo-Tek, Dye-Oryang, Wang Winyo, Wii-Ogang and Arit East in Gem-Onyot Parish; and Lubye South and Pawac Goltall in Got Okong Parish.
Acholibur Sub-county Chairperson James Obalim says the villages were created in 2021 after communities approved the move and the sub-county submitted all the required documentation, including council resolutions, to Pader District.
Obalim says, he later sought clarification from the Electoral Commission, which informed him that gazetting administrative units falls under the mandate of the Chief Administrative Officer and the District Planner, not the Commission.
He adds that the district has since petitioned the Ministry of Local Government over the matter.
Obalim says the omission is difficult to understand because the affected villages have been treated as legitimate government administrative units for years.
State Minister for Local Government Justin Nsubuga Nameere says the ministry will investigate the matter. She says, the Permanent Secretary will assign officers to establish why villages that had already been issued with government stamps failed to appear on the electoral register and recommend the appropriate course of action.
By URN
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