By Mulengera Reporters
During a recent stakeholders’ engagement meeting, Faridah Nabatanzi who heads political mobilization in Buganda region for NUP party under the Kunga arrangement, tearfully narrated how her party’s candidate for Kayunga LC5 by-election Harriet Nakwedde’s victory was stolen and deprived even when she actually beat NRM’s Muwonge with a difference of more than 16,000 votes.
Nabatanzi, who was the party’s chief supervisor for the Kayunga vote, recalled a sub county where an appalled EC Chairman Simon Byabakama cancelled several polling stations’ results after army men turned up early in the morning with fully stuffed ballot boxes and chased away genuine voters as early as 8am.
To her surprise, deep into the night, the Kayunga district Returning Officer (who Byabakama supervises) restricted access to the tally center from where votes coming from cancelled polling stations ended up being smuggled in and included in the final tally yet Byabakama had personally invalidated the same earlier in the day.
Speaking infront of Byabakama at Kawempe Tick Hotel, Nabatanzi ranted: “Mr. Byabakama that was so unfair and it portrayed an EC that is totally disrespectful of citizens who in big numbers turned up to participate in that election. It was so unfair, as you know, yet your Returning Officer ended up shamelessly declaring Muwonge to be the winner yet the Kayunga people had clearly voted for Nakwedde.”
She added: “Kawempe is in Buganda proper and we are now wiser as NUP party. I can assure you we are not going to accept even a fraction of the injustice that you as EC occasioned upon us in Kayunga. All our people are going to be trained and civically empowered and you can be sure sir that any of your officials who tries to replicate the Kayunga chaos here in Kawempe, should write his or her will in advance because such vote thieves are going to be beheaded in this by-election. You can be sure my friend because this is Kawempe in Kampala and not Kayunga.”
AREA MAYOR INCITES EC BOSS:
At the same engagement meeting, the Kawempe Division Mayor Emmanuel Sserunjogi Oweddembe incited the EC Chairman to stop being cowardly but to instead learn to wear a bold face and look Gen Museveni in the eye while demanding for adequate funding of the EC.
“Don’t mince with words again because this government will only adequately fund the EC as a result of public pressure. As Chairman you must lead the way and become outspoken about this and speak openly during public meetings like here. As elected leaders, we shall ride on that to expose the government on that so that your message gets amplified. That’s the only way President Museveni will feel humiliated and begin to adequately fund your work.”
Sserunjogi added that once funding is increased, the EC won’t have to oppress opposition political candidates through charging prohibitively high nomination fees and Shs100,000 to obtain a copy of the voters register among others. Sserunjogi called all these extortionist levies and crippling to especially opposition candidates who tend to be financially vulnerable.
Sserunjogi also thanked the EC for organizing such an engagement meeting which gave them as leaders and community members an opportunity to directly give their feedback on how the electoral body can improve on how it serves citizens.
The Kawempe Mayor also demanded that security offices like that of DISO and RCC become less involved in electoral preparation activities. He wondered why a voter has to be required to validate his or her eligibility to vote at a certain polling station after verification by the LC1 Chairman, by proceeding to go secure additional authentication from the offices of DISO and RCC’s.
Sserunjogi also demanded to be guided on how the LC1 Chairpersons can get the opportunity to participate in the verification of new voters or even those relocating to a new polling station in cases involving army barracks were voting also takes place. He demanded for more transparency regarding army barracks so that elected leaders like himself can know how to get involved in that since votes from such army facilities ultimately impact on their electoral victories. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
