The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Rushenyi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Naome Kabasharira, the aspirant who won and later lost the Rushenyi constituency NRM parliamentary primary election has accused the Electoral Commission chairman, Dr Tanga Odoi of siding with her opponent to rig her victory.
Speaking today at the party EC offices located at Plot 13 Kyaddondo Road in Kampala, Kabasharira said it was wrong for Odoi to overturn her victory basing on contested results.
According to the new results announced last week, State Minister of Labour, Mwesigwa Rukutana defeated Kabasharira with only 20 votes. According to the declared results, Rukutana got 25,310 votes against Kabasharira’s 25,290 votes. This forced her to petition the party’s election tribunal alleging that Dr Odoi’s actions which were in bad faith led to her loss.
But Kabasharira accused Dr Odoi of lying that he visited the four contested villages, yet he was taken on a guided visit by Rukutana’s people. Her main point of contention is in four villages where she says results were either doctored or no elections were held at all. The four villages include; Nyakahita, Ruyonza, Rwakabira and Rugongi. “God of the heavens should help us because the chairman is not telling the truth,” said Kabasharira.
She now wants the tribunal to either declare her the winner or hold a re-run in the four contested villages. Speaking to Uganda Radio Network – URN after her presentation to the tribunal which was led by her lawyer Wesley Tusingwire, Kabasharira said she wants to first exhaust all the appeals mechanism provided for in the party before she can announce her next course of action.
Dr Odoi was unavailable for comment. Presenting his case on why the tribunal should uphold the results declared by Dr Odoi, Mwesigwa Rukutana who was represented by his lawyer Okello Oryem said that in his view, the tribunal cannot overturn the ruling of the party electoral commission chairman.
“The chairman already investigated those allegations and took a decision. In our view, this tribunal cannot hear a petition that the chairman determined,” said Oryem. He said all the polling stations that Kabasharira said there was no election, had affidavits sworn by electoral officials and some villagers to the effect that there were elections. “Once there has been investigations and the matter is closed, you can’t open it up,” Oryem said.
This prompted Enock Barata, one of the party lawyers the party appointed to hear the petitions, to wonder why then they were appointed in the first place. “The tribunal will be useless if it can’t hear this petition between the Electoral Commission and the candidates after the declaration of results,” said Barata.
Rushenyi was among some of the areas which witnessed high levels of violence that led to the shooting and wounding of one person as the NRM was holding party primary elections. Rukutana was arrested, prosecuted and then remanded for two weeks for allegedly shooting a supporter of his opponent.
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