The police have come under the spotlight again after documentary evidence showed that senior officials of the National Resistance Movement influenced the Force to arrest the mayor of Hoima Town Council, Francis Atugonza.

Vice President Gilbert Bukenya has blamed the NRM Secretariat for the mess that characterised yesterday’s party primary elections.
Speaking to journalists after casting his vote at Nagulu polling station in Kakiri Sub-county, Wakiso District yesterday, Prof. Bukenya said the NRM secretariat was facing serious organisational problems that can be ironed out by a competent leadership.

“You can imagine it is 12 noon and most people have not started voting because materials never arrived on time,” Prof. Bukenya said, adding, “Even the materials they have sent are not enough and the presiding officers are being told to use exercise books as ballot papers. These are serious organisational problems.

Yesterday’s voting for NRM’s parliamentary and local council flag bearers in Kampala, Mukono, Entebbe municipality, Rakai and parts of Wakiso District were postponed over allegations of election malpractices. Even where voting took place, it started late due to lack of voting materials.

Secretariat blamed
Prof. Bukenya, who is running against Amama Mbabazi, the incumbent, in the race for the NRM secretary general, argued that most of the hiccups that led to suspension of voting exercises in most districts in Uganda could have been avoided if the party had an effective secretariat.

“In some places in my constituency there was no voters register, while in other places the presiding officers were told that if someone is a known NRM supporter who can be identified by the people, then he can vote even if his name was not on the register,” Prof. Bukenya said. “These are anomalies that could have been solved if the secretariat was strong”, he said. Prof. Bukenya, however, refused to put the blame on Mbabazi, saying he does not want to mention individuals.
The National Resistance Movement Electoral Commission chief Lydia Wanyoto yesterday admitted that administrative problems had hampered the voting exercise but said the party was working on a quick solution to the problems. “It is a challenge for all of us,” Ms Wanyoto said. “We are getting reports that ballot papers are not enough and the alleged ballot theft. We shall see what to do after receiving all the complaints.”

Meanwhile, the NRM presiding officer for Masulita Sub-county in Wakiso yesterday survived getting lynched by a mob who accused him of disappearing with ballot papers meant for election of the district NRM flag bearer. Mr Naliima Waswa told Daily Monitor at Masulita Police Station, where he took refuge, that he ran away with the ballots because they were not enough.

Ballot shortage
He said after realising that the ballot papers could not tally with the big number of voters present, he called the party headquarters for more ballots papers but he was instead advised to use exercise books. “That was unlawful because there is nowhere in the NRM constitution where it is written that exercise books shall be used as ballot papers,” Mr Waswa said yesterday. “ When I refused the unlawful directives from the party headquarters and packed the ballots to leave the place, the crowd followed me thinking that I had stuffed the ballots.”