EC releases roadmap for Bukimbiri by-election
The Electoral Commission (EC) has released the roadmap for Bukimbiri County by-election.
According to the plan, the programme starts today with a stakeholders’ meeting, nomination of candidates will be on August 1 and August 2. Campaigns (August 3 and August 9) and the polls (August 11).
Mr Paul Bukenya, the EC spokesperson, called upon all stakeholders to work together.
“We have gone to the field and our teams are already making sure everything required for this election is ready. We shall hold a meeting on Monday (today) and we are ready for this day,” he said.
This roadmap follows the Court of Appeal pronouncement last week that threw out incumbent MP Eddie Kwizera Wagahungu.
Justices Frederick Egonda-Ntende and Eva Luswata ruled that the ballot papers that were used in the January 2021 election were defective.
Although the matter came up on the day of polling, the returning officer led a gentle-man agreement among the candidates who were allowed to proceed with the elections.
Mr Kwizera won the election with 11,821 votes and Mr Asgario Turyagyenda, who was running on an independent ticket, came second with 11,330 votes.
Shortly after the election, Mr James Owebeyi of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), who came last in the election with 107 votes after another independent candidate Martin Muhereza (167 votes), petitioned court over non-compliance with the electoral laws.
In their ruling, court condemned the EC for failing to take an essential step to detect an anomaly on the ballot papers.
Owebeyi had noted that although the candidates’ photos and party symbols appeared on the ballot papers, the names were not theirs.