The electoral commission has been tasked to extend the nomination exercise of MPs for 14 days. The call was made by Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga during plenary on Tuesday.
She demanded that the exercise be extended after government said that married women will have to follow the standard procedure of the use of a deed poll if they are to change their names ahead of the nominations.
A deed poll is a Legal document for changing names or adopting a name by publishing the intention for change of or adopting a name.
According to the election roadmap released by the electoral commission months ago, Members of Parliament will be nominated between October 12 and 13, 2020.
A matter of National Importance was raised in Parliament Angeline Ossege, the Woman MP Soroti district last month that the Electoral Commission was declining to nominate persons whose names on the National Identification Cards differ from those on their academic transcripts.
According to the law, one must pay 300,000 shillings for publishing a deed poll in the Gazette which takes 7 days and then the person applies to the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) to effect the change of names after payment of 50,000 Shillings. This should take more than three days.
However, Kadaga argues that the exercise should be extended since the requirements necessitate a long process.
Government was meant to present an amendment to the Registration of Persons Act to exempt women from following the deed poll process, but the Deputy Attorney General Jackson Kafuuzi said all people wishing to change their names must follow the procedure.
However, several MPs declined this position saying women are being victimized and limited from participating in politics.
