11 vie for Makerere guild president
Makerere University students pictured voting for their guild president in the past. PHOTO/NOELINE NABUKENYA
Makerere University students are voting for their guild president in a race that has attracted at least 11 candidates from different political parties.
In an interview conducted on November 9, 2021, Mr Saad Ddumba, the university Electoral Commission Public Relations Officer stated that all the candidates fulfilled the necessary requirements to participate and have been declared fit to contest.
The candidates include; Shamim Nambassa of the National Unity Platform [NUP], Silve Bukala from the National Resistance Movement [NRM] and Obeid Yahaya Kamulegeya of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). Others who contested as independents are; Sam Ayeyo, Agrippa Byayesu, Ronald Mutsinzi, John Mwasse, Victor Omega, Nelson Ssewanyana, Martin Tumuhaise and Moses Tumusiime.
The elections started this morning (November 12, 2021) with a total of 37,543 students anticipated to participate in the exercise.
Mr Ddumba stated that a blended voting mode is going to be used, in respect of government directives against the spread of Covid-19 and therefore 28,389 of the students will be able to cast their votes physically while the rest will be participating virtually.
In the same regard, all physical campaigns were suspended and guild candidates were advised against holding open campaign rallies.
“May be if they find students individually in their hostels outside campus, but there is no congregation allowed,” he added.
During the previous elections, students were expected to register via the online voting platforms in order for them to take part in the voting process but the system suffered technical glitches which led to a majority of them being excluded from the process. Mr Ddumba, however, stated that the platform has since been upgraded and all students whose names appear on the voter's register will be able to vote.
