Emmanuel Kajubu
8 November 2005
Kampala — THE NRM primary elections in Fort Portal Municipality in Kabarole district ended up in chaos and were cancelled after irregularities were cited during the exercise.
The elections, which were intended to pick a sole candidate to contest as mayor of Fort portal on the NRM party ticket in the 2006 elections, turned rowdy when the party's electoral commission officials arrested an unidentified woman with a bundle of ticked ballot papers stuffed in the ballot box.
This raised suspicion among supporters of the incumbent, Edson Asaba Ruyonga, who accused the officials of trying to rig the elections in favour of their candidate's opponents.
"Stop the elections otherwise people will lose their lives," said an angry supporter of Asaba.
The other candidates included former mayor Bob Kaganda and Halima Wakabu, a councillor.
The elections were held at Boma Grounds in Fort Portal on Friday. As his supporters protested to the officials, Asaba displayed other ticked ballot papers which he alleged were given to his supporters by those of his opponents.
"What are these?" asked Asaba, while showing the ticked ballot papers to the district NRM registrar, Sande Tibamwenda.
"We won't accept this kind of rigging," he added.
The anti-riot Police were later deployed to calm the situation.
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