Electoral Commission Readies For Busongora By-election Voting

The Returning Officer of Kasese District Ismael Atwijukire says all is set for Thursday’s polling and tallying of votes for the by-election of Member of Parliament (MP) for Busongora County, South constituency in Kasese District.

Atwijukire who was speaking to stakeholders during the pre-polling meeting in Kasese appealed to the candidates’ agents and observers to acquire the necessary accreditations to access the Tally Centre and the polling stations to avoid unnecessary standoffs during elections.

Jeninah Sabiiti, the Regional Election Officer, Mid-West Electoral Region, also speaking at the same pre-polling meeting said all the electoral officers are well trained to professionally and efficiently manage and supervise the Busongora by-election. Sabiiti cautioned against any unauthorized individuals who could try to disrupt the election.

The Director of Operations at the Electoral Commission Richard Kamugisha assured stakeholders that all polling materials have been delivered to the Returning Officer in the presence of the candidates and political parties’ agents in preparation for tomorrow’s by-election. All candidates and political parties have been given serial numbers for all the parked polling materials, he said.

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi called upon candidates and political parties to give the agents copies of the Voters Register and formal appointment letters when deploying them to observe elections.

He clarified that notebooks cannot be used to verify the credentials of a voter as required neither is a candidate’s poster an equivalent to an appointment letter.

“The Commission issued a copy of the National Voter’s Register to the participating candidates to enable them through their agents to verify the eligibility of voters at the polling Station,” Justice Byabakama said.

Justice Byabakama revealed that the Commission has introduced a form onto which the ten voters required by law to witness the opening of the polling station shall sign to confirm their presence at the commencement of the polls. “This effort aims at ensuring that the provision of Section 30 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, is complied with,” he explained.

Voting at all the one hundred polling stations in the constituency will begin at 7:00 am and end at 4:00 pm for the tallying to commence.

Kamugisha advised designated Candidates’ agents to report to the Office of the Returning Officer before 4:30 am tomorrow Thursday morning 18th August 2022, to observe the dispatch of the polling kits to their respective polling stations.

Meanwhile, Munezero Juma, an independent nominated candidate in the Busongora County South constituency, Member of Parliament by-election, has withdrawn from the race. A notice of withdrawal will be pinned at each of the 100 polling Stations in the Constituency and if any vote is cast in favour of the withdrawn candidate, the vote will be counted invalid.

With the withdrawal of Munezero, the race remains with six candidates. These include Mbaju Jackson, Businge Bernadette, Kighema Alosious Baguma, Zagiire Doreen, Mujungu Thembo Gideon and Mulindwa David Isimbwa.