The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residual elections for the directly elected councillors in Mbale city’s Northern Division have been marred by violence and low voter turnout.
The elections were cancelled after wrong ballots were sent to the division.
In most of the polling stations visited by URN, they were almost empty with few or no voters which delayed polls to start.
In other polling stations, polling officials and the candidate’s polling agents agreed to begin the voting process with the few people who had turned up to vote where by 9:00 am, polling was yet to begin.
The low turn up forced some candidates to transport voters from their homes to the polling stations.
The elections were also characterized by violence in Northern East division. It took the intervention of police and the Electoral Commission officials to restore calm before voting could proceed.
At Buyonjo Primary School polling station, voting was halted after a fight between supporters of the National Resistance Movement candidate Yasin Kawanguzi Wabomba and Michael Jackson Kisolo, an independent.
Kawanguzi accused the polling officials for opening the polling station without the ten witnesses as stipulated by the electoral commission laws. Kawanguzi and his team also assaulted the head teacher of the school hosting the polling station accusing him of voter bribery.
From Buyonjo polling station, Kawanguzi proceeded to the home polling station of the National Unity Platform candidate Abdullah Magambo and caused chaos accusing the presiding officer of side-lining with his rival to rig votes.
However, NUP supporters forcefully pushed him out of the polling station. Voters accused Kawanguzi of disturbing the peace at the polling station.
Micheal Kisolo, one of the candidates says that Kawanguzi assaulted his agent who is currently hospitalized.
But Kawanguzi said the election was marred with irregularities as early as the polls started adding that if the electoral commission announces someone else other than him, he has enough evidence to run to court.
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