The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Resistance Movement (NRM) party Electoral Commission (EC) Chairman Dr Tanga Odoi, has made changes in the process through which successful candidates in the today’s municipal council elections in Kampala Central are to be announced.
NRM held its primary election today, in which members elected flag bearers for the Kampala Central Division Mayoral seat as well as Local Council II and III Councilors. In Kampala Central, the contest for the Division Mayor is between Salim Uhuru and Patrick Mugisha.
Now contrary to the last two occasions where vote tallying for parliamentary and LCV primaries was done at Nakasero Primary School, today the NRM EC changed the venue to its headquarters at plot 13 on Kyadondo road.
Here all supporters who had converged inside the premises to follow the vote tallying process were asked to move out and only candidates with one agent each were allowed inside. Those outside the premises were under the watch of a heavy deployment of Local Defense Unit (LDU) personnel as well as police officers under the Field Force Unit (FFU). The same heavy deployment was witnessed inside the premises of the NRM EC.
Speaking to candidates and their agents, Dr Odoi noted that the election officers were to read results from each village where voting took place so that the candidates and their agents cross-check with the declaration forms to authenticate the results.
He said that this would be done for all villages in Parishes within Kampala Central before final results are declared, a move he said was intended to clear grievances on results. Some of the Parishes within Kampala Central are Nakasero Parish I and II, Bukesa Parish, Kagugube Parish, Mengo Parish, and Kololo Parish and others.
The changes come amidst reports of alleged vote-rigging in polls held on Friday when the party was choosing its candidates for LCV positions across the country. It saw the intervention of a team of security officers led by Kampala Deputy Resident City Commissioner Hajjat Hawa Ndege to cause immediate changes following complaints of vote-rigging.
By the time we filled this story, the announcement of results from different villages within Kampala was ongoing. The interim results were still putting Salim Uhuru in lead for the Kampala Central Division Mayoral seat.
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