Jinja district NRM primaries peaceful with high turnout

Fred Tenywa, a voter, said the exercise went on smoothly, saying they were still waiting for results by 2:00pm.

Moses Muwanika Walyomu, the incumbent MP for Kagoma constituency in Jinja district. (Photos by Jackie Nambogga)
By Jackie Nambogga
Journalists @New Vision
#Jinja district #NRM #Primaries

________________

Jinja district’s Butagaya sub-county and Namagera town council, both known to be characterised by chaos, were peaceful as voters remained calm.

In Kagoma constituency, the race remained for two contenders as it was in the bloody 2020, with Fredrick Munyirwa facing off with the incumbent Moses Muwanika Walyomu.


Fredrick Munyirwa with his supporters as they waited to take part in the election at Lubani Vocational Training center in Namagera town on Thursday.

Fredrick Munyirwa with his supporters as they waited to take part in the election at Lubani Vocational Training center in Namagera town on Thursday.



Whereas Munyirwa scooped the party card, Walyomu contested as an independent and won the seat.

Munyirwa, who voted from Lubanyi vocational Training Centre located at Lubani west village, Namagera town council challenged security to ensure that they didn’t have a repeat of 2020, where he sustained injury in the head at the tally centre where he exchanged with Walyomu, whom he accused of vote rigging.





At Lubani SSS, Nicholas Bukone, a presiding officer branded the exercise as peaceful.

“You can see we have agents of all candidates and none is attacking each other, this is how an internal exercise should be,” Bukone said.

On the other hand, Walyomu voted at Nakakulwe village in Butagaya sub-county under tight security of the police and army.

Fred Tenywa, a voter, said the exercise went on smoothly, saying they were still waiting for results by 2:00pm.


Fredrick Munyirwa, one of the candidates vying for Kagoma consistency in Jinja district.

Fredrick Munyirwa, one of the candidates vying for Kagoma consistency in Jinja district.



Presiding officer takes off with unsigned declaration forms

Elsewhere at Polota A polling station in Kakira town council, a presiding officer reportedly took off with unsigned declaration forms.

Margret Mbabazi, an agent belonging to one of the woman MP contestant, Monica Kamagu Namukose said the officer jumped on a boda-boda and took off before they would sign.

Moses Batwala, the Jinja district NRM chairperson, said he received complaints of voters whose names were not appearing in their registers, yet they participated in the party structures.




He cited Namwendwa in Namagera town council and Budima in Butagaya sub-county.

“We used the same register during the party structure, but when it came to today’s voting, some people’s names were missing,” Batwala regretted.