Not very surprisingly, chaos have erupted in the Jinja East by-elections which kicked off today morning. The heavy down pour has made things even more complicated as voters, determined to make their voices heard, got stuck in the long queues. Up to this moment, the NRM is accusing FDC of rigging with one senior party official exclusively telling this news website that “the EC has let us down; they are clearly biased and allowing the opposition to access certain things to our total exclusion.”
The NRM leader, who is very central to the Igeme Nabeta campaign, didn’t explain what he meant by “certain things.” What we know so far is the emergency of social media reports from the opposition camp that hundreds of pre-ticked ballots have been discovered in numerous places mostly in favor of the NRM candidate. The opposition has gone as far as releasing onto social media images of pre-ticked ballots prompting NRM publicist Rogers Mulindwa to release a media statement saying this is a well-orchestrated ploy by the opposition to demonize candidate Igeme while translating the whole situation into sympathy votes for FDC candidate Paul Mwiru.
In fact the NRM camp has also released its own version of pre-ticked ballots alleging the Mwiru camp attempts to steal elections. “They have been holed up in Mwiru’s home in Walukuba and that’s where those pre-ticked ballots are originating from. We are corroborating reports that they have insiders in the EC who are leaking all these ballots to them for pre-ticking but we are going to expose their allies in the EC,” said a top NRM official on condition of anonymity. This officials’ claims were corroborated by Rogers Mulindwa who refused to rule out foul play and connivance between the Mwiru camp and some electoral officials.
The combined deployment of the conventional police and the military remains high at hotspots like the Main Street polling station which the opposition supporters claim is the place where rigging is supposed to take place. Mwiru, whose team comprises of several MPs including Winnie Kiiza, Allan Sewanyana, Semujju Nganda and others, says no rigging will be allowed to succeed because “we have serial numbers for all the ballot papers the EC issued out.” Sometime ago, the EC chairman Simon Byabakama stormed the Main Street Polling Station to investigate rigging allegations. Byabakama also says to cover up for the voting time that has been lost because of the rain, the EC might consider extending the voting time beyond the initially planned 4pm.
Byabakama says it will be risky and recipe for bloodshed for anybody to even ponder rigging elections “because people are too vigilant in this election as seen in the way they are braving the rain.” Rogers Mulindwa denied reports that guys that continue to storm polling stations insisting to vote while armed with batons are NRM supporters. Mulindwa says “that must be the weakness of security and not as NRM because we don’t own the security forces.” Mwiru commended EC Commissioner Stephen Tashobya for his promptness each time they have complained to him about potential vote rigging by the NRM camp.
Mwiru spoke of NRM Kayunga district chairman Moses Karangwa who has been moving around beating people at polling stations. Mwiru claims that the EC officials had ordered police to disarm and confine Karangwa but he was released and re-armed on orders from above. Mwiru also says there an incidence at Iganga Road polling station where attempted ballot stuffing was thwarted. Byabakama says apart from the rain and a few incidents in the central voting areas, the exercise is so far going on very well. He gives examples of Kisima Islands and Masese whose 6 polling stations are voting very smoothly.
