By Our Reporter
6th July 2023
Voting came to a halt at Wanglobo Primary School after an armed gang, escorted by suspected National Resistance Movement-NRM party members and the police, forcefully gained access to the polling station.
The gangsters confiscated the ballot books, ticked them, and dropped them into the ballot box.
Walter Waco, the Presiding Officer at Wanglobo Primary School, reported the incident to his supervisor, indicating that the gangsters arrived in a police patrol vehicle and demanded five booklets, each containing 50 ballot papers, which they took and returned to the box.
At the time of the disruption, only 18 out of the 555 registered voters at the polling station had cast their votes.
Jimmy James Michael Akena, the Uganda People’s Congress-UPC Party president, accused the NRM party of rigging the elections, claiming that the NRM was afraid of losing.
In response, Dr. Tanga Odoi, the NRM Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson denied the allegations and instead accused the opposition of causing chaos and blaming it on the NRM. Odoi challenged Akena to provide evidence to support the claim that the NRM was behind the disruption.
The exchange between Akena and other opposition politicians became heated as tensions rose. After three hours, the Electoral Commission delivered new voting materials for a fresh round of voting.
Similar incidents were reported at Acokara and Baromele Primary Schools in Otwal Sub County, Oyam District.
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