Kagoma By-Election: Grand issues as heavy deployment seems to rig it all for the NRM!

The 11^th May are the Polling Day of the Kagoma By-Election in the Jinja District. As there are unsettling reports and also proves that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) cannot win a sincere election. Since they are coming with a presence of mambas, armed police officers and all the gear to intimidate the public. As even during the campaigning, the President Yoweri Museveni said: “I am tired of wars. I want you to vote for pro-NRM members of parliament like our party flag-bearer, Mr Moses Walyomu.” (…) “I don’t want to go back to the bush to fight again. Don’t send me people who will disagree with me in parliament. I fought in 1986 and I am tired.”(Kirunda, Nakato & Katabulawo, 2017).

Arrested day before the ballot:

“Sadiq Amin, the National Defense Secretary of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party and seven others are in trouble for alleged electoral violence in the Kagoma parliamentary by-elections. The eight were picked up last evening from Buwenge town council ahead of the Kagoma County parliamentary by elections later today. Asuman Mugenyi, the Director of Police Operations, told journalists at Kagoma county headquarters last evening that Amin is wanted for masterminding violence in the just concluded Kamuli municipality MP by elections” (URN, 11.05.2017).

The Police has deployed heavy in the district and in the area. They have even arrested people around the voting stations, on the charges of violence. But there aren’t reports of people at the Hospitals. As there is only FDC leadership who has been detained the day before and know more people being charges. Seems like a day where the Police Force are intimidating the public to vote for the NRM candidate today.

“Security has been beefed up in Jinja town as voters in Kagoma County constituency go to the polls to elect a new MP in today’s by-election . Busoga regional police commander Twishimwe Geofrey says the tension between two groups; supporters of Brandon Kintu, an Independent candidate, and Moses Walyomu of the NRM, were high and so far eight people have been arrested in connection to violence” (88 SMART FM, 11.05.2017).

“Despite some polling station receiving voting material beyond the required time as well as reported cases of a pre-ticked ballot paper, heavy police deployment, the country’s election prefect maintains that nothing is amiss. According to the schedule, voting was supposed to begin at exactly 7am and close at 4pm” (…) “However not all polling centres kept that time. Some polling stations were also forced to suspend voting for hours after the biometric machines failed to function despite earlier assurance by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi that everything was good to go. According to Mr James Otim, a resident of Budondo sub-county, it emerged that voting some at polling stations started late” (Ladu, Tausi & Okeya, 2017).

“Byakika Voting was suspended for nearly two hours at Kiranga-Busoba Polling Station in Butagaya Sub County following the breakdown of election machines. Only 19 people had voted before the thumb-detecting machine stopped working. The station Presiding Officer Paul Kigenyi says the voting temporarily stopped around 8:30am. By 10:30am the E.C team led by one Samuel Kiyingi was still struggling to fix the machine. Voting resumed a few minutes later as voters expressed their anger” (City Beat Magazine, 11.05.2017).

So there been clear malpractice and also intimidation, as the FDC leadership has spent time behind bars, as the Kagoma By-Election was going-on. So if the result doesn’t end with victory for the NRM candidate, I would be shocked. All the cards are stacked against the independents as well as the FDC candidate. This is going on and the government sponsors the fear, in the midst of a by-election in the Jinja District. The clear evidence is already there, that before the tallying, the return forms and the party agents start to take charge over the ballots. This is just beginning of the electoral process, and the issues are here from the get-go. Peace.

Reference:

Kirunda, Abubaker; Nakato, Tausi & Katabulawo, Andrew – ‘I don’t want opposition in parliament, says President Museveni’ (09.05.2017) link:http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/I-don-t-want-opposition-in-parliament–says-President-Museveni/688334-3919496-71atniz/index.html

Ladu, Ismail Musa; Tausi, Nakato & Okeya, Moses – ‘Complain of pre-ticked ballot papers, faulty voting machines blemish Kagoma by-election’ (11.05.2017) link:http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Preticked-ballot-papers-faulty-voting-machines-blemish-Kagoma/688334-3922948-s0x8bxz/index.html

Kagoma County By-Election: FDC Surge the crowds, while the NRM believes in Voter Tourism!

There is a by-election going on in Kagoma County in Jinja District. This is in Busoga region and inside the Busoga Kingdom. In the recent days there been campaign rallies in the towns and villages of the county. As the candidates together with the leadership of the parties has arrived to spell their program and get their candidate into the 10^th Parliament.

That the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni together with the NRM has held rallies in the district isn’t surprising, neither is it that today only he has hold 4 rallies in the county. What is more common is the proof of bribery and in general using intimidation as well. Therefore, the reports that the NRM used violence against FDC mobilizers. On the 5^th May the pictures of innocent party organizers bloody t-shirts we’re spread on the internet. Therefore, the proof that the NRM cannot win without violence or use money, is yet another proof.

Another typical trick of the NRM, has been how the buses has been driving around in the county and district, giving away t-shirts, offering 10k shillings and food; if they participate to the closest rally of President Museveni and his coming Candidate Moses Walyomu Muwanika. This one is supposed to stop the Forum for Democratic of Change (FDC) candidate Timothy Batuwa. Instead of like the FDC who gather natural crowds with their leadership and convoys.

The NRM uses buses and payments, giving away T-shirts, beating up Independent Candidates supporters, which happen earlier this week. There are certainly double standard in this, as the NRM uses intimidation, harassment, than condemning violence, later knowingly paying for supporters and getting support by bribery. Than, sending buses (Voter Tourism) and picking up crowds, while the other parties scraps people together honest. Therefore, the ruling regime and ruling party uses all tricks of the trade. To get the MP for the area elected again! Certainly, the NRM has no honor, only cheating and rigging to win.

If there will be pre-ticked ballots on the 11^th May 2017 and sudden ballots taken away with Police Officers during the tally wouldn’t surprise anyone. Also, that the late release of the Declaration Forms and the Return Forms, which the NRM will comprise as they have already started to do. That with the bribery of citizens and the ways the buses rides to pick-up and give food. This is all manipulation and selling the ballots for scraps. Certainly, the electoral process isn’t respected when the NRM trades the ballot for 10k shillings and rallies to elect their man. Peace.

NRM Primaries a little to Yellow? Sorry wange, it’s to Mellow!

Well after days of Primaries where I have showed details after details of practices of the NRM Electoral Commission and the actions on the ground. These primaries has been magnificent and that the proud professor Tanga Odoi doesn’t have the honor to tell the world that he didn’t have the capacity to deal with all of the voting stations, voting material and the excess of practices on the ground.

The National Resistance Movement who has run a country for 29 years ever since the year of 1986. Has held Internal-Elections to see who might represent them in the General-Election in 2016.

The surprise to people is how Ofwono Opondo spread the level of cost that was on the election 5, 5Billion shillings. That there was set up about 60, 000 voting stations. At the same time there been only registered 47 cars to the political party. The last straw today was that the NRM Register Office is set under the NRM Secretary General and not in the National Resistance Movement Electoral Commission. Therefore the governing body that is in charge of this spending and the amount of cars combined with initial areas that need material doesn’t sound like a something that easily could be questioned. Then they imported the Ballot-papers from Kenyan producers, surely as Dr. Odoi has said he wanted to secure that it wasn’t like in 2010 when people had ballot-papers in their houses and in their pockets. It still hasn’t been smooth.

Ballot-papers has missed candidates, Independent candidates has been on the NRM Ballot-Papers in certain districts, there has been missing slots like 7 boxes to tick and 8 candidates, the ballot papers has ended in the wrong district, there been ballot-boxes in prisons and in Central Police Stations before arriving to Polling Stations. There have even been missing candidates on the ballot-papers. So many wrongs are just the simple ballot-papers or the slips that the voters are supposed to decide their vote. More candidates has been taken with tens of thousands or just thousands of pre-ticket ballot-papers in their houses and cars.

On top of this is the massive arrests, the winning candidates that are still in jail,  pre-ticket ballot-papers ready made for some candidates and some have pre-filled ballot-boxes arriving at the polling-station. FDC Members could willy-nilly vote and at certain voting stations. There been districts where the police have taken people with fake Yellow-Membership-Cards. People been taken to custody for election violence and others for charges of rigging the elections. The last charge has been in many districts. There been specific candidates who has had mobilization teams to bribe voters in counties, certain has been incarcerated for doing so. Certain candidates have held voters on gun-point to make them take the right decision on who to vote for!  The Police has thrown tear-gas into the public to shut down demonstrations after postponing the elections in the county.

There have even been candidates whom have stormed tally-centers with security personnel and demanded all the people to get out. So they could clear the results. Even certain candidates has stolen the ballot-boxes after voting and ended up in jail. There been even candidates who couldn’t control the tally-center so the candidate actually took the declaration form and got caught, ended up also in jail.

For all of this there has even been talking that the Ghost of Amama Mbabazi is the one behind all of this. Isn’t that taking away the 80% satisfaction of Dr. Odoi?

There has been talk of moles into this election and IGP Kale Kayihura has said that the media should step off from being the media and foreign influence is making a lot of trouble. Well, the bribes are local, the mobilization teams are local, the candidates rides locally, the districts are run by local men, the NRM has decided who the wanted on the ballot, not moles or international influences so, IGP Kale Kayihura need yet another reality check!

There has been voting in done electronically on their cell-phone through the magical place of WhatsApp. There has been candidates going to markets and buying soldiers and police officers votes. Some people in this Internal-Election have been stopped from voting in the polling station even when they are registered. The police have even stopped mini-buses with shipped people from county to county to make the tally. There has been magistrates and candidates held temporary hostages by the public for a hot minute for trying to buy the electorate in the municipality.

This here is to set the issues in perspective. To show how the practices has been during this internal election. I will not bring more or less election results from the rest of the internal election of the NRM because the Daily Monitor, Elections.co.ug or other outlets does it better and with manpower and time I don’t have. But you should look over the big birds that are shot down and the changes of guards that has happen in the party. Dr. Tanga Odoi needs to be set straight for this. There was chaos in 2010, but this here hasn’t been a smooth eiter! There have been districts and counties with peace. But there been a lot of irregularities in this internal exercise.

Hope that Eng. Dr. Badru Kiggundu and the big Electoral Commission of the state can do a better job or maybe even hide the malfunctions better for the General Elections coming. Because Dr. Tanga Odoi is showing so much weakness in this, the NRM party as the ruling party is showing shady practices and rigging on a major scale. And if this is a pre-run and test before the coming one, then there will be a long walk in the wilderness and an even longer walk for free and fair elections in Uganda. Peace!