URN.On Tuesday, the Electoral Commission in Soroti City nominated Herbert Edmund Ariko, the National Resistance Movement- NRM candidate, and Pascal Amuriat from the Uganda People’s Congress- UPC. This brings to three, the number of candidates nominated for the Soroti East by-election slated for July 28, 2022.
The candidates for the Soroti East Parliamentary by-election in Soroti city have listed health, education, and land rights as priority areas once they are elected.
On Tuesday, the Electoral Commission in Soroti City nominated Herbert Edmund Ariko, the National Resistance Movement- NRM candidate, and Pascal Amuriat from the Uganda People’s Congress- UPC. This brings to three, the number of candidates nominated for the Soroti East by-election slated for July 28, 2022.
According to Ariko, he will prioritise health and sanitation in the constituency, which he notes is infested with garbage. He said that as the NRM candidate, it’s the desire of the party to transform the communities by offering adequate health services for the development of the city.
Since he was unveiled as the NRM candidate, Ariko has supported the construction of two health units in Kichinjaji and Aloet wards. He also recieved a boost from the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, and the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Acheng among other government officials who delivered supplies to the facilities over the weekend.
Pascal Amuriat on the other hand, says that he wants to legislate on land rights, which he notes caused the by-elections. According to Amuriat, the Soroti by-election would have been avoided had the authorities then heeded their calls.
In 2020, Amuriat led a team of landlords in Soroti to petition Parliament against the creation of Soroti City citing inadequate knowledge, sensitization, and readiness for the city status among the local communities. He also noted that most of the communities including the local leaders didn’t know the boundaries but the authorities ignored their concerns.
The Court of Appeal nullified the Soroti East MP polls following a petition by Herbert Edmund Ariko over the boundaries of Aloet and Opiyai wards. The wards, now in Soroti East Division were annexed to Soroti West Division by the Soroti High Court in 2020.
Although the Soroti City East Constituency attracted six candidates in the 2021 general elections, the by-election has attracted only three candidates. The other candidate is the incumbent and FDC’s Moses Attan Okia who was nominated on Monday.
