MASSIVE RIGGING: EC cancels Kampala mayoral polls

The Electoral Commission has called off the Kampala mayoral elections following a Wednesday morning chaos that explained what would happen in the day. At 12:30pm, Deputy EC boss Joseph Biribonwa and Secretary Sam Rwakoojo called an impromptu press conference at which he announced the cancellation.

“The new date will be communicated later,” he said.

Mr Biribonwa added that polling had started at an awkward time contrary to the electoral laws of polling at 7am. He also said some of his polling officials had connived with candidates to stuff ballot boxes, but declined to name in whose favour the pre-ticked ballots were.

Mr Rwakoojo said the commission didn’t know the origin of the stuffing, and neither did they know what time the ballots had been stuffed.

“We shall investigate if the ballot papers used are ours and we shall print more ballots for the next date of polling,” he said.

Mr Rwakoojo explained that the ballot materials left EC offices on Tuesday. By 4:30pm on the same day, the materials left divisions for nearby police stations where they would later leave for polling stations early morning.

However, sources indicate that as early as 3am, polling had started in several of the polling stations around the city. Mr Rwakoojo however denied knowledge of this. He said, “We don’t know what time the polling started but it was very early.”

“I have witnessed some of these incidents in the city and I have asked Police to take up the matter,” Mr Biribonwa said, refusing to answer questions from journalists on whether he suspected police to have been the source of leakage.

Meanwhile, Kampala Mayoral Candidate, Michael Mabikke, has called on the EC to suspend NRM candidate Peter Sematimba over alleged massive rigging that has rocked the Kampala mayoral race.

Thousands of pre-ticked ballot papers and stuffed ballot boxes have been recovered by the police in the early hours of voting this morning.

Speaking from the Daily Monitor offices at 12.48pm, Mr Mabikke said what the EC was conducting in Kampala was not an election but a circus. He also expressed disappointment at the improper manner in which the mayoral election has been organised.

“Some polling officials have been compromised heavily. They have been pre-ticking ballot papers in favour of Sematimba all night. This cannot be allowed to continue,” Mr Mabikke said.

Also at EC was candidate Erias Lukwago’s main agent, Medard Ssegona, who said police and the EC should investigate Mr Sematimba because of the incidents.

“It is not fair that our people die and suffer because he has chosen to rig his way like this,” Mr Ssegona said.