Lango goes to polls to elect new Won Nyaci today
By Bonny Otim Ogwal (bonny.otim@vol.co.ug)
Lira City.
After nearly two decades, the people of Lango will go the polls today Friday 1st March 2024 to elect the new Won Nyaci (Paramount Chief).
Yosam Odur Ebii (94) has been at the helm of leadership of Lango Cultural Foundation for 21years but recently notified the Ministry of Gender, labor and social development that he will abdicate office by 1st of November 2024.
On Thursday, the Lira High Court also cleared the Lango Cultural Foundation electoral commission to move head and organize today’s elections after the petitioners failed to convince court to block the elections.
In his ruling, the Lira High Court assistant registrar Ssalaamu Godfrey Ngobi said it defeats reason and logic why the applicants waited up to Tuesday to come to court to complain.
The elections according to the electoral body led by retired head teacher Tom Otim will be held at Akii Bua stadium, Lira City, the sub-region’s capital.
The other members of the commission include Hamza Okello, Vincent I Oling, Peter Obong Acuda, John Elem, Caroline Edonga and former Lira District Chairman Alex Robert Oremo Alot.
The secretary to the electoral commission Hamza Okello told Voice of Lango FM Thursday evening, thata total of 2535 delegates drawn from 169 Lango clans will constitute Electoral College to elect the new paramount chief.
Each of the 169 clans, will send 15 delegates to participate in the electoral process that will eventually elect Yosam Odur’s successor.
Okello says originally they had 149 clans who were supposed to participate in the polls, but during the last council meeting of Owitong, a resolution was reached at to include over 20 clans whose names were not in the original list but posses valid registration certificates from Lango Cultural Foundation.
Nomination process
Okello told Voice of Lango FM that Owitong in confidence, will write the names of three people from among the Owitong who they think can make a good Won Nyaci.
The three nominated candidates will be given opportunity to talk to delegates and the candidate who gets the majority votes will be declared as the duly elected Won Nyaci of Lango.
Qualifications.
To be eligible for election, the potential candidate should be of Lango tribe, an Awitong of registered clan with Lango Cultural Foundation, has high moral standing and should be within the age bracket of 55 to 80 years.
