The NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) has rejected the Kawempe by-election results, saying the process was marred by violence, voter intimidation, and alleged rigging.
On Friday morning, the Electoral Commission (EC) declared National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola the winner of the Kawempe North by-election. Nalukoola secured a total of 17,764 votes, while the ruling National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) candidate, Faridah Nambi, garnered 8,593 votes, finishing second in the 10-person race.
On Friday, the ruling NRM CEC held a meeting chaired by their party chairperson, President Yoweri Museveni, and resolved to instruct its lawyers to legally challenge the results in the courts of law.
In a statement issued by the party Secretary-General, Richard Todwong said there was violence meted out to NRM supporters, preventing them from exercising their constitutional right to vote for the candidate of their choice.
“We are compiling statistics of our supporters who were brutalized by elements of those opposing our candidate. Many of our supporters, mostly women and the elderly, were intimidated from going to cast their votes, thereby disenfranchising them from exercising their rights,” said Todwong.
He further stated that security personnel, whose role was to maintain peace and tranquility before, during, and in the immediate aftermath of the by-election, were deliberately provoked by elements in the opposition and, in the process, overreacted and, in some instances, arrested voters using excessive force.
The NRM Secretary-General also stated that there were allegations of serious electoral malpractices by elements of both the opposition and some of their own supporters during the by-election, including ballot stuffing and rigging, which prompted the Independent Electoral Commission to nullify results from several polling stations—affecting a total of more than 50,000 votes that were not tallied in the official records of total votes cast.
“The canceled polling stations represent more than 62% of the expected votes to be cast. This implies that the Independent Electoral Commission pronounced a winning candidate based on less than 40% of the expected votes,” he said.
Meanwhile, since the nomination of candidates in the Kawempe North by-election, security forces led by the army and the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce have targeted opposition leaders and supporters, arresting and beating them up.
On voting day, security teams targeted journalists and National Unity Platform agents. Many are still admitted to different hospitals around Kampala. The opposition decried the brutality of security operatives, saying it was state-inspired to intimidate them and facilitate vote rigging for the NRM candidate. They also vowed to take legal action against individual security officers.
