National Resistance Movement supporters stormed out of a polling station in Wobulenzi West Ward, Wobulenzi Town Council, as the LC II chairperson election stalls at the Sixth round of voting. The contest between NRM candidate Morgan Bugoloobi Kalaso and National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Ibrah Kaye resumed on Tuesday at Sekanusu polling station after the two candidates remained deadlocked following five consecutive rounds of voting on Monday.
The two candidates were tied at 21 votes each in each of the first four rounds, before again drawing 22 votes apiece in the fifth round, prompting the election to be postponed. On Tuesday morning, Presiding Officer Noah Migaire began the exercise by verifying voters in the parish electoral college, with 43 of the 44 registered voters present.
After the verification exercise, Migaire instructed the candidates to line up for voting. However, sensing defeat after missing one voter, Kenneth Kyeyune Simple, the Luwero District NRM Administrative Secretary, arrived with a petition and attempted to serve it to the presiding officer, triggering chaos at the polling station.
In the petition, Kyeyune asked the Electoral Commission to exclude 11 village council members who, although registered as NRM supporters, allegedly intended to vote for the NUP candidate. As tensions escalated, Migaire fled the polling station, prompting police to reinforce security at the Polling station.
The elections hit a snag as Migaire and Kyeyune engaged in a series of telephone calls. The Assistant Resident District Commissioner, Annet Nabukenya, later arrived at the polling station and ordered the exercise to be suspended until the NRM’s concerns were addressed.
By the time the chaos erupted, Kaye was leading with 22 voters against Bugoloobi’s 21. Kyeyune maintained that the elections could not proceed unless the Electoral Commission considered his petition.
However, Kaye dismissed the petition as baseless, arguing that there is no electoral guideline prohibiting NRM supporters from voting for a NUP candidate.
Kaye said his supporters were prepared to remain at the polling station until the stipulated voting time elapsed because they feared NRM supporters could return and conduct the election in the absence of his camp.Cue in: Kaye on the petition
The LC III Chairperson of Wobulenzi Town Council has criticized the Assistant RDC for allegedly issuing unlawful orders to halt the elections, claiming the move was driven by fears that the results would not favour the NRM.
When URN contacted Moses Rwanks Kiconco, the Luwero District Returning Officer, he insisted that the elections must proceed, saying any petition should be submitted to the Electoral Commission’s legal department rather than being used to disrupt the voting exercise.
By the time of filing this report, only NUP supporters remained at the polling station, demanding that the Electoral Commission declare their candidate the winner. Police have maintained their deployment at the polling station as NUP supporters refuse to leave the polling station-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
