EC COMMISSIONS FIRST REGIONAL OFFICE BLOCK AND STORAGE FACILITY IN WEST NILE

Officials from EC headquarters and Arua city posing for photo. All photos by Albert Onzoma.
 
By Onzoma Albert
Arua City

The Electoral Commission (EC) launched the 4.6 billion newly constructed and the commissions first-ever custom-built Regional Election Office to serve all the 13 districts in the West Nile.
 
The construction works for the Regional Election Centre located on Plot 2, Municipal By-pass in Arua central division, Arua City, was handed over to the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) of Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) in December 2023.
 
Speaking during the opening ceremony on Monday, April 28, 2025, Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, the Electoral Commission Chairperson commended the leadership of Arua City for allocating the Commission land for the construction of the regional election center.
 
“On behalf of the electoral commission I would like to thank the government for funding the construction of this regional office block, I further thank the leadership of by then Arua Municipality now Arua city for identifying and granting electoral commission land which we are commissioning now,” he said.
 
Brian Buhanda, the general manager of National enterprise cooperation the contractor who undertook the project appreciated all the stakeholders who supported them during the construction process.
 
“To the local leadership and chairman local council one of police cell, thank you so much for the good work you have done that has made us to complete this work on time, and we hope the quality is to the required standard that we agreed with the client,” he said.
 
The newly launched facility in Arua city.
 
Juma Shesha Adam, the acting regional election officer for West Nile region and returning officer for Arua City welcomed the development and appealed to the people of West Nile to support, monitor and protect the facility.
 
“To my people of West Nile, I want to say the following things, that this property is ours now it’s our responsibility to protect, preserve, maintain and defend the beauty, hygiene and architectural marvelous gift from our leaders” he urged. 
Salim Kumakech the Resident City Commissioner of Arua who was the chief guest during the commissioning applauded the government of Uganda for funding the construction of the Regional Election Center.
 
“For the first time in the history of the electoral commission that we have such moments to commission the infrastructure in your own name, I think it’s very historical and it is also historical because you are beginning with the furthest end of the country which is West Nile region,” he said. 
 
The regional office has an office space and warehouses which will enable the electoral body to conduct a range of administrative work, data processing, training, and storage of electoral materials before they are transported to the EC headquarters in Kampala.

Main entrance of the building