Few hitches as Makerere guild elections start

At some polling stations where this reporter reached, voting that was slated to start at 9 started late due to delays to avail nominal rolls.

The 79th Makerere University guild elections started Monday with a few hitches at different polling stations mainly emanating from lack of nominal rolls.

At some polling stations where this reporter reached, voting that was slated to start at 9 started late due to delays to avail nominal rolls.

A nominal roll is a list of students existing at a college or school. Its work is similar to that of a voters register in national elections.

At the college of Computing and Information Sciences, students boycotted voting until 11 am after it emerged that polling agents had been changed in addition to not availing them with nominal rolls to help them verify voters.

At African School of Library and Information of Library and Information Science, there has been outrage after agents of Ms Anna Adeke, one of the candidates discovered that voting was going on without nominal rolls. Here, students who turned out to vote were simply displaying identity cards.

“We cannot be sure that those students are under this college because there is no way it can be verified by the polling agents of all candidates,” Mr Justus Bangizi, one of Ms Adeke’s supporters said.

Eight students are contesting in the race.

 They are Mr Henry Boniface Okot (National Resistance Movement),  Ms Anna Adeke Ebaju (Forum for Democratic Change), Mr Martin Ssegawa (Democratic Party), Ronald Wandera (Conservative Party) and Ms Musa Byamaka, Mr Martin Twinamasiko, Mr Isaac Ssekkonge and Mr Kokas Okello, who are contesting as independents.

akiyaga@ug.nationmedia.com