NRM Women Lock Electoral Officer for Nine Hours Over Buikwe Poll Cancellation

NRM Women Lock Electoral Officer for Nine Hours Over Buikwe Poll Cancellation

NRM women in Buikwe District protested the suspension of elections for their National Women’s Council representative, locking an electoral officer inside party offices for nine hours.

Tension erupted in Buikwe District after NRM women locked the party’s electoral officer inside the party offices for nine hours in protest against the suspension of elections to choose their representative to the National Women’s Council.

The incident followed an announcement by the NRM electoral team that polling would not take place after a complaint was lodged with the party’s Electoral Commission Chairman, Dr Tanga Odoi, over alleged irregularities in the Njeru Central Division election process.

According to witnesses, electoral officer Peter Sserwada had started reading out the names of voters from the 13 sub-counties that make up Buikwe District before informing them that the elections had been suspended.

Sserwada reportedly told the voters that the decision followed a complaint from Njeru Central Division that had been referred to the NRM Electoral Commission in Kampala.

The announcement angered the women, who accused the party leadership of unfairly suspending elections across the district over a dispute arising from one area of Njeru.

The protesters reportedly vowed not to leave the party offices until voting was conducted before locking Sserwada inside the office.

The leadership contest was between Rose Mary Namuyanja and Bena Mulwana, who were each alleged to be aligned with rival senior NRM leaders in Buikwe District.

Esther Awori, an NRM supporter, criticised the decision, arguing that a complaint arising from Njeru should not have halted elections in other parts of the district, particularly since the disputed Njeru voter had already been dropped from the process.

The protesters accused the party headquarters of making the decision without first conducting a thorough investigation into the complaint.

Buikwe District Police Commander Innocent Tusiime intervened and warned the women that detaining a person against his will was unlawful.

Tusiime told the protesters that Sserwada was only implementing the electoral decision and that the suspension was not his personal decision.

The women reportedly refused to abandon their protest and insisted that the elections proceed.

The standoff was eventually resolved after Tanga Odoi reportedly instructed the electoral officer by telephone to proceed with the election.

Mulwana was subsequently declared elected.

She said suspending the election had been wrong because the polling date had already been set as part of the nationwide NRM electoral programme.

Sserwada said he had been compelled to stand firm because he could not go against directives from his superior, Odoi.

The dispute originated in Njeru Central Division, where Judith Kiwanuka reportedly filed a complaint with the NRM Electoral Commission alleging irregularities in the election of Awori as the NRM women’s leader for Njeru Central Division.