The Electoral Commission is set to construct a shs4.6 billion regional office in Arua city, the first of its kind.
The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the first custom-built regional office of the Electoral Commission in West Nile Region, will take place today, Friday, December, 15, 2023, at the construction site located on Plot 2, Municipal By-pass, Arua City.
“The ceremony will feature speeches by government and Electoral Commission officials, Arua City officials and project stakeholders, as well as a ceremonial ground-breaking to mark the beginning of construction,” EC spokesperson Paul Bukenya said.
“The Arua regional office marks the first of the regional offices the commission plans to construct across the country in a phased manner over the medium term. “
Currently, Uganda has 146 districts and cities which the commission has grouped into 12 operational regions.
During this financial year 2023/2024, government provided Shs1.86 billion towards the construction of the first customised regional election centre in Arua City.
“The customised regional office will enable the commission to conduct a range of administrative work, data processing, and training, and will also work as a nomination and results tallying centre.”
According to EC, the construction of the regional offices also aims at reducing expenditure on rental costs.
“It further aims at improving effectiveness and efficiency in the provision of electoral services. The customised storage facilities will particularly ensure cost-effective transportation and storage of election materials.”
The construction work will be undertaken by the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) of the UPDF at a cost of Shs4.699bn.