East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 12th January, 2021: The Judiciary in Uganda says that is ready to handle all election disputes that will emerge from the Presidential and Parliamentary elections that will be held on 14th January, 2021.
Uganda’s Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Richard Butera disclosed that the judiciary had already conducted training for judicial officers particularly on the handling of election petitions and disputes.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 10th January, 2021: The East African Community Election Observer Mission to the Uganda General Election to be held on 14th January, 2021 has been formally launched.
Speaking during the launch of the mission at a Kampala hotel, the Head of the Mission, H.E. Domitien Ndayizeye, who is also a former president of the Republic of Burundi, said that the Community attaches great importance to the promotion of democracy, which will in turn guarantee political stability in the entire region.
“Further to the invitation of the Electoral Commission of Uganda, the EAC is deploying an Election Observation Mission to the General Election in the Republic of Uganda. The mission will observe the presidential and parliamentary elections,” said Ndayizeye.
“EAC believes that regional observation can play a critically important supportive role that would enhance the credibility of the elections, reinforce the work of domestic observer groups and increase public confidence in the entire electoral process,” he added.
The Head of Mission said that the mission aims at contributing to strengthening political accountability amongst political actors and the Government of Uganda in addition to providing an opportunity for other EAC Partner States to share experiences on election management with a view to learning from each other and sharing best practices.
He said that the mission was in line with Article 3 (3) of the Treaty for Establishment of the EAC, which requires Partner States to adhere to the universally acceptable principles of good governance, human rights and social justice.
H.E. Ndayizeye said that in its assessment of the electoral process, the mission would be guided by the democratic principles and values outlined in the African Charter for Democracy, Elections and Governance, and the EAC Principles for Election Observation and Evaluation.
The mission comprises 74 observers and support staff drawn from the East African Legislative Assembly, East African Court of Justice, EAC Secretariat and the Electoral Management bodies, Ministries of EAC Affairs and Human Rights Commissions of the EAC Partner States.
The team that will undergo contextual training ahead of field deployment and will be deployed equitably to the various parts of the country on 12th January, 2021.
Also present at the launch ceremony were the Deputy Head of Mission, Hon. Dr. Oburu Oginga, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Eng. Steven Mlote and the Mission Coordinator, Mr. Charles Njoroge.
Notes to Editors:
The objectives of the Mission are to:
Observe the electoral process and to offer a balance and informed assessment of the elections;
Create public confidence in the electoral processes by encouraging the voters and other stakeholders to participate freely in an environment that promotes competition and tolerance without intimidation and violence;
Identify the challenges, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths that can be harnessed into best practices for the region through peer learning by the Electoral Management Bodies;
Assess the legitimacy of the electoral processes and outcome in accordance with internationally accepted standards, and;
Make recommendations for strengthening of electoral processes for the benefit of not only the Republic of Uganda but for the EAC region as a whole.
For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka Senior Public Relations Officer Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 768 552087 Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 15 December 2020: Outbreaks of infectious diseases are not only a health concern but affect many sectors. In the case of the current COVID-19 pandemic education, tourism and trade were among those that were hardest hit. The EAC Secretariat addresses this issue by applying the One Health approach in disease management. The approach involves all areas of society that would be affected by a disease outbreak, can contribute to preventing and combating it and to mitigating its impact. “In an effort to establish and train an urgently needed, strong One Health workforce, the EAC Secretariat with support from universities in all EAC Partner States and from the German Government developed a regional, generic, interdisciplinary postgraduate course on “Pandemic Preparedness with a One Health Approach (PPOH)”, explains the Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, Deputy Secretary General Productive and Social Sectors. “The curriculum will enable these experts to consider the needs of various stakeholders stronger, when mitigating the impact of disease outbreaks like COVID-19”.
East African Community, Arusha, Tanzania, 11th December, 2020: The training of trainers’ course on COVID-19 preparedness and response at 12 One Stop Border Posts between the EAC Partner States started in October 2020 and will end on Sunday, 13 December 2020 at the Gasenyi border post in Burundi. By then about 230 staff will have been trained and will scale up the measures by teaching further colleagues.
The training was convened by the EAC Secretariat and implemented by AMREF Flying Doctors to ensure that the busy border posts can effectively prevent the spread of COVID 19 and detect and respond to infected passengers.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: November 27th, 2020:The East African Legislative Assembly late yesterday enacted the Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2020, providing a legal framework for the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) to be an institution and corporate body of the Community. Under the arrangement, the LVBC is now expected to be responsible for among other duties, the coordination of stakeholder participation in sustainable development of natural resources of the Lake Victoria basin, and harmonization of policies, laws, regulations and standards.
The Assembly further urged the Council of Ministers to review and amend the Protocol for Sustainable of the Lake Victoria Basin and observed the Lake Victoria Basin, is an important resource for the entire East African Community which needs to be jointly protected by the entire Community.
East African Community ,Arusha ,Tanzania, 27th November, 2020: The East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP), in collaboration with the EAC Secretariat, and financial support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the Intra-Regional Trade Facility Initiative (IRTF), successfully launched the project Value Addition for Increased Market Access in the Moringa Sector in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The 25th to 27th November, 2020 training workshop included women in the moringa value chain from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on branding, packaging, and standard certification.
Germany commits up to 42.9 Million Euros to support EAC
Programmes on regional and social integration aim at advancing previous achievements such as customs union and common market
German delegation stresses EAC's impact in fight against COVID-19
On the 23rd/24th of November, the EAC Secretariat and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany successfully concluded their Government negotiations on development cooperation at the EAC Secretariat’s headquarter in Arusha, Tanzania. In total, Germany committed up to 42.9 Euros for the next two years.
The negotiations were led by the honourable Secretary General of the East African Community Secretariat, H.E. Ambassador Libérat Mfumukeko, and Mr. Marcus von Essen, Head of the East Africa Division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). While BMZ participated virtually, due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions, H.E. Regine Hess, Ambassador of Germany to Tanzania and the EAC, joined the negotiations in Arusha.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 24th November, 2020: Security Experts from the six East African Community Partner States have convened in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for a three-day meeting which is part of regional efforts towards harmonisation of Police Standard Operating Procedures (SPOs).
The 24th to 26th November, 2020 meeting is part of the implementation of a 2011 directive by the Sectoral Council on Interstate Security to develop SOPs to aid harmonisation of Policing within the EAC Region.
…as Hon Dr Woda J Odok granted leave to introduce key Bill
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: November24th 2020: EALA Member, Hon Dr Woda Jeremiah Odok, has been granted leave to introduce an EAC Livestock Bill 2020, to provide for the transboundary movement of livestock and control of animal diseases within the bloc.
The envisaged EAC Livestock Bill 2020, is to grant a coordinated identification, characterization, mapping and enumeration of livestock. It also seeks to strengthen the detection, prevention and control of transboundary animal diseases. At the same time, the Bill shall provide for a regulatory framework to monitor pastoral ecosystems.
East African Community ,Arusha ,Tanzania, 23rd November, 2020: Retired Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete has called upon the youth in the region to seize the moment and show leadership in politics, business sector, sports and the arts among other fields.
President Kikwete said that digital age has made today’s youth a more lucky generation than any other saying that technology and information had made it possible for them to undertake tasks from anywhere including holding virtual meetings.
