Old foes to face-off in race for East Moyo parliamentary seat

Residents push a lorry that got stuck on the Adjumani-Gulu road. Bad roads are among the key issues in the East Moyo contest. PHOTO BY MARTIN OKUDI

What you need to know:

Race to Parliament. In the coming election, the political opposition plans to cause an upset and snatch the East Moyo seat from the grasp of the ruling NRM party which has long held sway there.

ADJUMANI.
Billed as the “battle of oldies”, the tussle for East Moyo parliamentary seat is likely to again pit Deputy Premier Moses Ali (NRM) against political nemesis, Santos Eruaga.

There are key issues in any political contest. And in the race for East Moyo, unemployment, bad roads, accessibility to markets for farmers’ produce, poverty, poor performance in education and access to quality healthcare, loom large.
Stella Kojoa, a farmer in Dzaipi Sub-county, said she will vote for a competent leader who will be able to eradicate abject poverty at household level.

“A good leader is chosen by God, when the right time comes, I will know who to vote,” Kojoa said.
Gen Ali continues to ride on the popularity he gained after he signed a peace agreement with the government many years ago. He is also looked upon as an elder and a man who worked for Moyo to be granted a district status.

“I do not want to disappoint my [supporters] who have proposed the idea for me to continue representing them. Electricity from the national grid has already reached my people; I now want to lobby for tarmacking of the road from Atiak via Adjumani to Afoji in Moyo District,” Ali, who turned 78 in April, said in an interview.
The agenda

Also on his agenda is lobbying for the border between Adjumani and Amuru districts to be demarcated and introduction of fish cage farming.
Eruaga beat Ali in the 2006 general elections after he lost in the NRM primaries and stood for MP on independent ticket. It was a comfortable win for Eruaga who garnered 20,375 votes and Moses Ali followed with 9,923. Behind the General was Joseph Iranya who managed 3,010 votes in that election.
The former MP is gearing up for the looming battle.

“I will contest again because I still believe that I won the 2011 general elections only that the results were messed up by the Electoral commission and the cases in the court were all dismissed on technicalities.”

His platform will be agricultural production, value addition, enhancement of education standards and better service delivery in the health sector.
In the 2011 elections, after the declaration of the results in favour of Ali, Eruaga petitioned the Chief Magistrate’s Court, faulting Electoral Commission of rigging the elections. He wanted a recount of the votes.

After days of hearing of the petition, the Chief Magistrate Muhammad Kasaija ruled that all the declaration forms tendered in court by Eruaga as evidence were not signed and not original copies. Not satisfied, he lodged an appeal at Arua High Court, but still met with failure.

In the coming election, the political opposition plans to cause an upset and snatch this seat from the grasp of the ruling party which has long held sway here.

Youthful Sunday Mawadri (FDC) hopes to reap a dividend from the so-called “youth bulge” and an expanding ‘middle class’ community which together have heightened the sense that there is a generational and aspirational shift at play in the coming elections.

“The leaders have failed to solve the border issue between Amuru and Adjumani which is affecting agricultural activity. I will lobby for tarmacking of Atiak-Adjumani and Afoji Road, empowerment of special interest groups, sponsor needy children in schools, advocate for better health service delivery and provision of clean and safe water,” Mawadri told Saturday Monitor.

Silvano Adriko, a boda-boda rider in Adjumani Town, said: “Change is in the air for all to see. I too voted for change in the last election because we have a lot of economic disparities. The gap between the rich and poor is too much.”

Change from within
But that change may yet come from within the NRM, which is relatively popular here, as Moyo District chairperson Nixon Owole intends to make bid for the seat too.
“I am competent and dynamic enough to follow up some of the issues of agricultural inputs, water supply, electricity, bad roads so that they are worked on for the development of the district,” Owole said.
Owole brings to three the number of candidates likely to vie for the NRM ticket. This presents the likelihood of a split vote and divided loyalties which could work in favour of their opponents across the political divide.

Sentimu Leku (NRM), a fuel pump attendant in Adjumani Town, said it will be advisable for the ruling party to front a single candidate.
“Let those contesting on NRM ticket sit and agree to front a single candidate to avoid loss of votes to Opposition candidates,” he said.

Gen Ali’s game plan at the moment appears to have his supporters endorse him as the most suited person for the post at public meetings. While Eruaga is hoping to ride on his record when he represented the constituency.

About the candidates
Moses Ali (NRM)
Born on April 5, 1939 at Meliaderi village, Ataboo parish, Pakelle Sub-county in Adjumani District, Gen Moses Ali lost both his peasant parents -- Wani Loke and Dusman Dore -- when he was barely 11-years-old.
In April 1990, he was arrested at State House Entebbe and charged at Buganda Road District Court with treason, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms. He was remanded to Upper Prison, Luzira.
In 1991, he was convicted of illegal possession of firearms and sentenced to two years in prison. Months later, he was released in June 1992. He would go to run for Moyo East parliamentary seat. He was MP here until 2006 when Santos Eruaga beat him.
He resumed leadership on the constituency after contested victory 2011.

Santos Eruaga (NRM)
The 56-year-old served for one term as an independent candidate from 2006 up to 2011 when Gen Ali unseated him by a narrow margin of 3,500 votes. He is currently running a business at Makerere University. He also has a 1,000-acre farm in Adjumani.

Nixon Owole (NRM)
The 55-year-old is the current LC5 chairperson of Adjumani District. During the creation of the district, Owole was unanimously voted as the interim district chairman. He was also chosen to chair the district taskforce for the President’s re-election campaign in 2001.
Before joining politics, he taught in several secondary schools. He was a head teacher at Metu Mixed Boarding Secondary School.

Sunday Mawadri (FDC)
The 35-year-old is a former district council speaker, a position he held from 2006 to 2011.