Gloom, frustration, confusion and bitter exchanges among officials, candidates and voters once again characterised what should have been the final day for the NRM primaries on Saturday. The exercise flopped.

Officials at the NRM Electoral Commission office, who had earlier said they were better prepared for the elections, yesterday said the elections flopped again because the party EC was overwhelmed by logistical challenges which meant most polling stations did not have voting materials even by press time yesterday.

"We are trying to rectify the problem. Some logistical issues that have affected the process are all confidential. We shall inform soon when voting will take place," EC commissioner Israel Kayonde told Sunday Monitor on phone from the NRM offices.

A statement sent out at midday on Saturday and signed by Ms Felicitus Magomu, the acting chairperson of the party EC cancelled elections in Kampala, Kanungu and Iganga districts.

Material stolen

"The postponement of the Kampala elections is due to the fact that the NRM Electoral Commission has discovered that ballot papers which were dispatched to Kampala in the evening of the September 3, have been stolen and are in the hands of unscrupulous people who intend to rig the elections in Kampala," reads part of the statement.

This announcement caught many voters and candidates who had risen early and lined up to cast their votes by surprise. Many polling stations visited by Sunday Monitor had no evident voting activity except for groups of people castigating officials.

"The Commission has already recalled the ballot papers for Kampala region and is issuing new ballot papers. For avoidance of doubt, no election should take place in Kampala today September 4, 2010," the statement further said.

Capt Francis Babu, one of the candidates in Kampala sounded disillusioned. "They haven't brought the materials yet. None of the EC officials is taking our calls. I am also calling the big men but nothing is happening," he said.

Mr Fred Bamwiine, another candidate expressed similar sentiments: "No election materials. The EC is responsible for all this but they are not on phone, they are not seen anywhere and I surely don't know what is taking place."

And for youthful Al Haji Muhammed Nsereko, he said he should be compensated for the financial loss he has incurred for the inconveniences caused to him by the EC.

"I am in the field still monitoring and my voters will keep lining up until 6pm whether there is voting or not," he said.

"It is the second time we are inconvenienced and the EC must compensate me. They have taken us for granted but they shall soon see what we have held within ourselves for this long."

The events on Saturday could further irritate President Yoweri Museveni, who on Friday accused top NRM officials of being irresponsible and seeking selfish interests in the elections and apologised to supporters of the NRM party for the polling mess across the country. He also promised to sort out his party's EC if they failed to organize free and fair elections.

"We have had situations where senior members are biased against some members yet I have told all of them previously that a senior leader shouldn't take sides because it is the people to elect and not the leader to elect," the President said.

On Friday, Ms Magomu in a press conference at Namboole had promised that materials would leave for their destinations that evening. However, by midday on Saturday, even Entebbe material had not yet arrived. Voting should have started at 8:00am and expected to close at 5:00pm.

Babu cries out

Capt. Francis Babu, one of the contenders for Kampala Central, when contacted about the calling off of the elections said: "I don't think it is worth going through such an exercise again. Kampala polls were prone to theft. [it is] worse for our party and I don't know where we should go next." According to Ms Magomu, the postponed polls will be conductedon Sunday 5 in Kampala, Iganga and Kanungu. In Kanungu, only Kinkiizi East was meant to poll in a few villages that didn't poll on Monday 30.

There was confusion in Iganga as voting materials hadn't arrived by press time. The statement did not give reasons for Iganga and Kanungu cancellations but added that areas not affected by the announcement should proceed with the voting "according to NRM guidelines governing the elections".