Faridah Nambi, the NRM candidate is confident of winning the vote
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The big announcement concerning the winner of the Kawempe North by election is just minutes away, as final votes are being counted by officials of the Electoral Commission at Makerere.
But Faridah Nambi, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate has assured her supporters that she will deliver the win to them.
“Am hopeful of victory in case the process is conducted with integrity,” she said, shortly after casting her vote at the Mbogo Primary School playground polling station.
However, by the time we went to press, Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola, the National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate was leading at most polling stations, as Returning Officers presented their numbers one by one.
There has been heavy presence of armed personnel and numberless motor vehicles in the area, but Nalukoola called upon voters to exercise their democratic rights by not being intimidated.
He said it was God who determines leaders, and once a decision has been made, it should be implemented by the people.
NUP’s Nalukoola alleges intimidation and vote rigging
The Kawempe North by-election has been highly contested, with reports of heightened security and allegations of electoral irregularities surfacing throughout the day.
The Electoral Commission has yet to comment on the allegations raised by the candidates taking part in the election.
Vote rigging
Many candidates taking part in the elections were fronting allegations of electoral malpractice and accusing each other of vote-buying and intimidation.
The election was faced with several technical glitches, including delays in the distribution of voting materials to some polling stations.
The polling process, which was supposed to begin at 7:00 AM kicked off several hours late, creating concerns of transparency.
Voters Habari Daily talked to at several locations highlighted technical failures, saying these are likely to affect the smooth running of the election and its outcome.
The Kawempe North seat fell vacant following the death of MP Muhammad Ssegirinya on January 9. Ssegirinya, who won the constituency for NUP in the 2021 general election, had turned it into a stronghold for the opposition party.
