NRM to pay poll losers’ expenses - Mukula
The NRM national vice chairperson Eastern Uganda, Capt Mike Mukula (2ndR), meets some of the party primary election losers who registered for compensation by the party. PHOTO BY YAZID YOLISIGIRA
IGANGA. The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party has embarked on a process of registering all those who controversially lost during the recent party primaries with a view of meeting the expenses they incurred.
The national vice chairperson Eastern Region, Capt Mike Mukula, said the move is aimed at deterring them from contesting as Independent candidates. He made the revelation in Iganga last Friday while addressing all those who participated in the party primaries in the district. Capt Mukula admitted that the primaries were in some cases marred by irregularities, which made the process unfair to some aspirants.
“People sold off their property and put money in elections, but were disappointed. We are asking those who are willing not to return as independents to register with us and we refund the money they spent,” he said drawing cheers from a section of those who lost the primaries.
He said after the registration exercise, the party is to deploy a team to negotiate and agree on reasonable amounts that would be paid to them. No sooner had he made the pronouncement than some of those who lost jumped up to the podium and demanded that they be immediately registered. Thirty people were registered within the first 15 minutes prompting Capt Mukula to direct the district NRM chairman, Mr Baker Walubi, to carry on with the process later and dispatch the list to the NRM Secretariat.
