By KT Reporter
Four candidates losers in the recent NRM parliamentary primaries for West Budama North East have petitioned the NRM Elections Disputes Tribunal, asking for the election results to be cancelled.
The petitioners, including MP incumbent Fox Odoi-Oywelowo, Robert Onyango, Ruth Nabagesera, and Mary Achom, say the elections were full of illegal activities and irregularities that affected the final results.
In their petition on Tuesday, the Candidates, through their lawyers at Akampumuza & Co. Advocates, the four candidates state that the elections were not free and fair. They are challenging the victory of Richard Owere Machika, who was declared winner. He is listed in the petition as the 1st Respondent, while the NRM Electoral Commission is listed as the 2nd Respondent.
The petitioners say that during the elections, there was total failure to follow the NRM electoral rules and laws and that there was no declaration form tallied, and wonder how the officials ended up concluding that Machika was the victor. They say the whole process was full of confusion and was taken over by the 1st respondent’s supporters, who chased away their agents and controlled polling stations by force.
They add that in sub-counties like Paya, Sere, and Nawire, there were no official polling officers, village registrars, or polling assistants. Instead, these polling stations were run by people planted by the 1st Respondent.
They also say that the polling stations were not marked with tape as required, and in some villages, there were no polling stations at all. In other places, polling stations were put in areas that people could not access, while in some, voters did not know who the polling officials were. The petitioners say that voters were not taught or guided on how the election process works, and there was no use of the voters’ register to confirm who was allowed to vote. As a result, many ineligible people were allowed to vote, and real voters were denied the chance.
The four candidates further say that their polling agents were not allowed to do their work. They were beaten, chased away, and in some cases, injured by the 1st Respondent’s group. They also accuse the 1st Respondent of bribing voters and polling officials. They claim that the 1st Respondent gave money to presiding officers from Paya, Sere, and Nawire sub-counties and told them to bring in people who support him to act as presiding officers. These presiding officers were reportedly instructed to allow only one line at polling stations for people voting for the 1st Respondent.
The petitioners also claim that the voter register was inflated with fake names and ghost voters, which gave the 1st Respondent an unfair advantage. They say these actions were against the NRM electoral guidelines and affected the election in a big way.
Because of all these issues, the petitioners are asking the NRM Tribunal to cancel the results of the NRM primary elections for West Budama North East and declare that the election was full of cheating and illegal practices. They are also asking the Tribunal to order the NRM Electoral Commission to organise fresh primary elections in line with the law and the party’s guidelines.
” An Order that the said election be declared to have been marred by gross malpractices that substantially affected the result”, reads the petition.
Fox Odoi says he was denied a fair election despite being a loyal member of the party. The other three candidates also say they were treated unfairly and that voters in the area were denied their right to choose a leader freely.
The NRM Electoral Commission has not yet given an official response to the petition.
However, on Monday, the NRM EC Chairperson, Dr Tanga Odoi, advised all aggrieved candidates to petition the Tribunal since his organised election is the one being challenged.
The NRM Tribunal, which is headed by Lawyer John Musiime is expected to begin handling dozens of petitions arising from the polls soon, at a date that is yet to be given to both parties.
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