By Steven Enatu
SOROTI CITY
The National Resistance Movement party top leaders over the weekend camped in Soroti for a campaign rally in the guise of ‘consultations’ for their flag bearer Herbert Edmund Ariko.
On Wednesday the 6th July 2022 Herbert Edmund Ariko was unveiled as the NRM MP flag-bearer for Soroti East Constituency by-election. The seat was declared vacant by the Court of Appeal last month.
On Saturday the 9th July 2022, the Deputy speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa in the company of NRM Vice Chairperson Eastern Region Capt. Mike Mukula, Peter Ogwang MP Ngariam County and also the Minister of State in charge of Economic Monitoring, MP Soroti County Patrick Aeku and two other MPS moved around two wards in Soroti canvassing votes for Ariko.
In Kichinjaji the team laid a foundation for a construction of a maternity ward for Kichinjaji health center three before proceeding to Kichinjaji Primary school ground where they fundraised 39.7 million towards the construction of the ward.
“We are not here for a campaign, we are here to show you love by establishing a project that will remain for you saving mothers while giving birth” Ariko told the crowd in Kichinjaji.
They also handed over NRM branded t-shirts to some converts from FDC before they proceeded and met a crowd of voters in Aloet ward.
In Kichinjaji, Ariko told the voters that he had come back as heir to which Mukula left to take care of his people and offer services in Soroti.
Relating to Attan, Ariko said “For the one year, what did you people get in Soroti? Not even a match box, not even a razor blade, what kind of husband is that?’ he asked.
While releasing the election road map for Soroti city east by election, the electoral commission noted that the campaign meetings for candidates for Member of Parliament and Municipality Directly-elected Councilors will be held from 21st to 26th July 2022.
They further warned that no forms of gifts, donations and voter bribery of all forms are allowed before campaign time.
However, NRM falls victim to not adhering to these guidelines as witnessed over the weekend where they addressed rallies, distributed campaign materials and also solicited for votes ‘contrary to the campaign period set out in the Electoral Roadmap.
While meeting with opinion leaders at Mukula’s home, the deputy speaker Thomas Tayebwa said he came to Soroti for services delivery but not to campaign.
“Secondly there is no MP candidate here to come and tell me you’re campaigning in my constituency and thirdly I am a deputy speaker because of NRM and the only way I can pay back is by ensuring that NRM wins and I also come back for another term, I don’t think I will be nominated by NUP or FDC” he said.
While in Kichinjaj, Tayebwa told the crowd to send a person who can work closely with the NRM party in power.
“I hear some people here are moving around with propaganda that Ariko has a job, Ariko has resigned from his job for this campaign, and he was doing good things for us. The person saying that should step down and I guarantee him a job and let Ariko go to parliament” Tayebwa told opinion leaders in Soroti.
At Mukula’s home, Ariko asked for the support of the deputy speaker in canvassing for votes amongst the Bantu community around Jua-akali areas that he says NRM faces resistance in. “I know that Juakali is the place where they don’t want to see the face of Ariko, Right hon. Speaker. I saved these Juakali people by lobbying for them a 500KVA transformer for power. There are only 500kva transformers in all of Soroti, I don’t know if they know” he said.
“Politics is not social distribution of opportunities; politics is the contestation of power. The moment you use it as a process of distribution of opportunities, you lose it. So the NRM cannot simply concede political space that you must also give another person a job. After all, being in parliament is not about a job but a service to the people. NRM participation in this is not because Ariko has a job in parliament but territorial control as NRM party” Ariko added.
Peter Ogwang MP Ngariam county and also the Minister of State, Office of the President in charge of Economic Monitoring vowed to camp in Soroti and do door to door campaigns. He said the vote for Ariko is for liberation in terms of service delivery in Soroti city east.
“We are going to walk on foot and mobilize votes in all these wards, we cannot allow the mess in the city to continue, we all know Soroti used to be the cleanest city in Uganda when Mukula was the MP here but today I drove in town and saw garbage in all streets. We are not here to joke around, what brings this is that you take voting for granted by voting blue” he said.
He said that there is no way NRM can be happy with a city that they provide service delivery to and you appreciate it by voting blue.
“I know the law does not allow the deputy speaker to campaign directly but I request you to come and help us with the Juakali people” Ogwang said.
Captain Mike Mukula the NRM vice Chairperson Eastern Region told voters in Kichinjaji an analogy that governance is like a phone that you cannot buy airtime for Airtel to connect to MTN.
“You can have the phone but you will not connect, The government in power which is NRM is like the MTN line in a phone, you cannot buy airtel airtime to connect in it” he said.
Paul Bukenya the Electoral commission spokesperson said that as EC they have issued the road map to guide the by election and what is going on should be strictly within the internal parties to choose their flag bearers.
He said that despite the law providing for consultations in preparation for nominations, the same consultations should be distinguished from campaigns which take the form of holding rallies and meetings.
“I am not aware of what you’re talking about exactly but if there is anything that political parties are doing outside their internal process like gathering crowds soliciting for votes, its wrong and we urge all stakeholders to report to EC, when you look at our road map, we have not nominated any candidate to start campaigns” he said.
He alluded that aspirants should desist from conducting ‘rallies in the guise of consultations’.
The election road map for Soroti city east according to the E.C indicates that between June 10 and June 14, EC conducted an update of the national voters register, June 15 to June16, EC recruited officials to display the voters’ register.
17th to June 27, EC would display a list of recruited displaying officials at the office of the city returning officer and division headquarters.
“Display of voters’ register would be from June 27 to July 7 at various polling stations, from July 7 to 12, EC will display tribunal recommendations for inclusion on the voters register at the ward.
Meanwhile nomination of candidates by the returning officer will be held from July 18 to 19.The Commission will also undertake the inspection of candidates’ nomination papers and lodging of complaints from July 20 to July 25 before nominated candidates start their campaigns from July 21 to July 26 while polling day is July 28.
So far five people have expressed public interest in contesting for the seat and they are Herbert Edmund Ariko NRM flag bearer, FDC’S Moses Attan Okia, UPC’s Pascal Amuriat and other two NRM leaning candidates.
However, DP is also expected to fill in the candidate with the party president general Norbert Mao, saying they will competitively participate and win these by-elections. Tomorrow the party will be announcing their official flag bearer.
