The Electoral Commission on Wednesday conducted repeat Local Council I (LC I) elections in 12 villages in Busia District under heavy security after violence disrupted the original polls earlier this week. The violence that led to the destruction of the initial voters’ registers forced the Electoral Commission to call for fresh voter registration.
Police, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda Prisons Service personnel and other security agencies were deployed across the affected villages in Buhehe Sub-county to prevent a recurrence of the violence that marred the July 28 elections.
The repeat elections were held in Buhamuna, Bulamba A, Sigala Magina, Nangodo, Bugunduhira, Mawanga, Gondohera, Buyuha, Mudiho, Muganiro and Sibona villages. Busia Resident District Commissioner Hajira Namagogwe said the deployment followed intelligence indicating a likelihood of renewed violence if security was not strengthened.
She said the security presence helped ensure that residents voted peacefully. Busia District Returning Officer Joan Aduru said the Electoral Commission was compelled to organise fresh voter registration after the original registers were destroyed during the violence that disrupted the first election.
She said the heavy security deployment enabled polling officials to conduct the repeat exercise without major incidents. Aduru said the elections were successfully concluded and advised candidates dissatisfied with the outcome to seek redress through the legal process rather than resorting to violence.
She explained that only residents who registered during the fresh voter registration exercise were allowed to vote. Not all candidates accepted the repeat process. Geoffrey Onyango, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer for Sibona Village, said he boycotted the election because he disagreed with how the repeat exercise was conducted.
However, Fred Asosi Lugadi, an independent candidate who won the Sibona LC I chairperson seat, welcomed the Electoral Commission’s decision to conduct fresh voter registration, arguing that it prevented the use of alleged ghost voters and restored confidence in the election. In Gondohera Village, another successful candidate, James Bwire, said the heavy security deployment gave voters confidence to participate after fears that violence could recur.
He pledged to work with residents to improve service delivery in the village. The repeat elections followed violence that disrupted voting in the affected villages on July 28, prompting the Electoral Commission to cancel the exercise and organise fresh registration before conducting the polls under enhanced security-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
