Disabled Woman Wins "Ordinary" Seat on Ugandan Council
By Kay Schriner (kays@uark.edu)
Margaret Ongodia, a disabled woman in the Ugandan Katakwi District, won an "ordinary" seat on the district council - though she could have run for a "disability" seat.
Uganda's constitution requires that a certain number of lawmakers be elected to represent groups such as women and people with disabilities. At the national level, Uganda reserves 5 parliamentary seats for disabled persons, and governing bodies at the sub-county and district levels must have two individuals with disabilities.
But Ongodia chose to run for an ordinary seat. Arguing that disabled persons can represent all citizens, not just persons with disabilities, she is quoted by the New Vision newspaper as saying "We can stand just like anybody else!"
Ongodia's election answers one of the claims made by opponents of special seats in governing bodies for groups such as women and people with disabilities - that these groups will be segregated into those seats and their "specialness" turned against them.
Ongodia's election was also notable for another reason. She successfully fielded questions implying that her disability would prevent her from responding to threats to the peace of the district. Katakwi District is made up primarily of Itesot people, but the district next door is dominated by the Karimojong people. What would she do if the Karimojong threatened the district? "My answer was that as a leader, I'm not personally supposed to fight anybody. We have well trained soldiers to fight and I will ensure that they can do their job efficiently, if the security of the citizens of Usuk is threatened," she said.
Ongodia has said that her campaign was not taken seriously at first. She is a respected member of the community, but had not been engaged in politics at the local level. She attributes her election victory to her experience with the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), where she has served on the National Board of Directors.
In addition to providing valuable experiences to people with disabilities, NUDIPU is also engaged in a dispute with the Electoral Commission over the Commission's failure to schedule elections for the "disability" seats. Because the elections have not been held, some governing bodies in Uganda are now meeting without the constitutionally-required representatives of people with disabilities.
The Election Commission claimed it did not have sufficient funds to put on the elections. NUDIPU has raised money to help pay for them, but they still have not been scheduled and NUDIPU is considering petitioning the Constitutional Court to force the issue. Margaret Babdiri, an MP from the Northern Region said "We have been left out, discriminated and we feel disappointed by the EC and the government."
Disabled people running for the designated seats have been campaigning since November, and NUDIPU has said that it will appeal to the Constitutional Court unless elections are scheduled by March 19. NUDIPU Chair Alex Ndeezi said "We have asked the electoral commission over and over again to hold elections...but they said they don't have the money for the elections."
Florence Nayiga Sekabira, Minister of State for disability and elderly affairs, said that the government is doing everything it can to hold the elections.
NUDIPU reports that more than 53,000 people with disabilities serve on governing bodies from the village level to the national level.
Information and quotations for this story come from the Monitor of Kampala and New Vision of Kampala.
|
