NRM warns aspirants against hiding voters in Sembabule residual elections

The National Resistance Movement-NRM Electoral Commission has warned candidates competing for positions on the Sembabule district party’s structural leadership against the habit of hiding voters ahead of their scheduled residue elections.

The NRM Electoral Commission has scheduled Wednesday this week to organise residual elections for the Sembabule district party structure after the earlier two attempts were aborted due to bitter controversy that has become an entrenched intra-party rivalry pitting NRM bigwigs in the area.

Currently, the bitter controversy is between Mawogola West MP Anifa Kawooya Bangirana, also State Minister for Health and retired Major General Phinehas Masooni Katirima, who are both competing for the position of Sembabule district NRM Chairperson.

The two rival camps are already embroiled in sharp altercations that have created a lot of tension in the area as they both tussle it out to exhibit mightiness in the area.

However, Patrick Ntale, party Registrar for Sembabule district, warns that they are not going to tolerate any conduct that may frustrate the election for the third time, indicating that the commission may be compelled to disqualify candidates who fail to abide by the election guidelines.

He says that they have obtained reports about candidates who are plotting to hold hostage some of the voters ahead of the elections, to prevent them from lining up behind their candidates of choice.

The NRM district leadership committee is, according to party procedure, elected by sub-county structural leaders, who constitute a college of delegates, who eventually elect their top leaders through open voting.

Ntale indicates that they are following up on clues of candidates and their agents who are planning to interfere with the scheduled residue election through planned hiding or threatening of voters, such that they do not participate in the polls.

According to him, together with the District Security Committee and special teams from the party’s Electoral Commission headquarters, they have summoned all the candidates and their campaign managers to caution them against violating the guidelines.

The warning comes at the height of a heated dispute between Minister Anifa Kawooya, the outgoing Sembabule district NRM Chairperson, also former Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kahamba Kuteesa, whom she accuses of selfishly manipulating the election in favour of retired Major General Katirima.

Kawooya argues that her opponents have always wanted to suppress the majority will by falsifying election results in their favour.

“They generated a lineup of people they want to pass on the leadership of the party in the area regardless of the election results,” she says.

However, retired Major General Katirima denies harbouring any plans of interfering with the election, arguing that claims are by detractors who are afraid of impending loss.

He asserts that his campaign team is always ready to go for the elections, but they have been frustrated by opponents who have continued to raise unfounded alarms, leading to the previous suspension of the polls.

Faisol Sseruwagi, the Sembabule Deputy Resident District Commissioner, indicates that the security is closely monitoring the situation to ensure that the exercise goes peacefully.