By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
The National Resistance Movement Party (NRM) has rejected the Kawempe North MP Bye-elections that saw NUP’s Nalukola Luyimbazi Elias garnering 17, 764 votes to beat his closest challenger, NRM’s Nambi Faridah Kigongo who only managed 8593 votes.
This announcement was made by the NRM Secretary General, Richard Todwong in a press statement today, Saturday, 15th March, 2025.
Todwong announced that the party’s top organ, CEC has rejected the results of Kawempe North by-election and has directed it’s lawyers to petition court to annul the results.
He says CEC’s decision is premised on the various acts of violence and lawlessness reported at several polling stations were carried out by sympathizers & supporters of NUP.
He also says the cancellation of results from various polling stations by the Electoral Commission disenfranchised over 50,000 voters.
CEC has also called upon government to carry out forensic audit into individuals that carried acts of hooliganism and have them brought to book.
FULL STATEMENT
Talking Points for Rt.Hon. Secretary General’s Presser on the Kawempe North Constituency by-elections
National Resistance Movement Secretariat; Saturday, 15thMarch, 2025By-elections:
On Thursday, 13thMarch, the by-election for Kawempe North constituency in Kawempe Division in Kampala Capital City was conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission.
A total of 10 candidates were nominated, including the NRM flag bearer, Ms. Faridah Nambi Kigongo.
Our immediate observation of this by-elections exercise is that it was marred with violence, voter intimidation, and alleged rigging. Amidst this environment, the Independent Electoral Commission announced National Unity Platform’s candidate as winner of the by-elections, having garnered 17,764 votes as against National Resistance Movement’s candidate who polled 8,593.
Consequently, the National Resistance Movement’s Central Executive Committee met yesterday under the Chairmanship of H.E. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni; and resolved to out rightly reject the results of the by elections as announced by the Independent Electoral Commission, and will be legally challenging the results as announced.
As mentioned above, there was violence meted out to supporters of the National Resistance Movement supporters, preventing them from exercising their constitutional right to vote candidate of their choice.
We are compiling statistics of our supporters who were brutalized by elements of those opposing our candidate. Very many of our supporters, mostly women and the elderly, were intimated from going to cast their votes, in the process disenfranchising them from exercising their rights.
Security personnel, whose role was to maintain peace and tranquility before, during and in the immediate aftermath of the by-elections were deliberately provoked by elements in the opposition and in the process, over-reacted and in some instances, arrested voters –using excessive force.
It is unfortunate that members of the 4th estate were caught up in this provoked and excessive use of force.
The National Resistance Movement apologizes to those Ugandans caught in this crossfire of provoked excessive use of force by security personnel. I assure the country that Government is already investigating the use of excessive force by security forces on population, including journalists who got injured, and those responsible will be brought to book.
There were also allegations of serious electoral malpractices by elements of both the opposition and our some of our supporters during the by elections, including ballot stuffing, rigging, etc; which prompted the Independent Electoral Commission to nullify results from several polling stations –affecting a total of more than 50,000 votes which were not tallied as official records of total votes cast.
The cancelled polling stations represent more than 62% of the expected votes to be cast. This implies that the Independent Electoral Commission pronounced a winning candidate based on less than 40% of the expected votes to be cast –and thus affected the will and mandate of the population of Kawempe North constituency -in a significant manner.
This is a case of complete disenfranchisement of our people –one of the reasons that the National Resistance Movement took to the bush in 1980.
We will not accept this level of disenfranchisement and will be legally challenging the declaration of the results of the by-elections as declared by the Independent Electoral Commission.
Thank you. Todwong Richard Awany, Rt. Hon. SECRETARY GENERAL
