1135 Villages to Repeat LC1 Polls Due Disruptions-EC

Repeat elections for Local Council One (LC I) chairpersons will be held on Saturday, August 1, in 1,135 villages where voting was disrupted or could not be completed during Tuesday’s nationwide polls, the Electoral Commission (EC) has announced.

The affected villages account for 1.6 percent of the 71,214 villages where LC I chairperson elections were scheduled. Polling was successfully conducted in 70,079 villages, representing a 98.4 percent completion rate. Addressing journalists on Wednesday, Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama said the elections were generally peaceful, orderly and transparent, attracting a large voter turnout across most parts of the country.

However, he said voting failed to take place or was not completed in 1,135 villages due to violence, destruction or theft of village voters’ registers, disputes over the registers, tied election results, interference by individuals and the death of nominated candidates.

Byabakama said some individuals whose names did not appear on the official village registers insisted on voting using only their national identity cards. He clarified that under the laws governing village elections, only residents whose names appear on the official village register are eligible to vote.

He said in some instances, people who were turned away disrupted the polling process, forcing elections to be suspended. According to Byabakama, elections in areas where polling materials remained intact were rescheduled and conducted on Wednesday, while the remaining affected villages will vote on August 1.

He explained that in villages where voters’ registers were destroyed, fresh registration of residents will be conducted on Thursday, July 30, followed by compilation of the registers on Friday, July 31, before polling on Saturday, August 1. For villages where voting was suspended because of violence or other disruptions but the registers remain intact, polling will also take place on August 1.

Byabakama added that where a nominated candidate died before polling, fresh nominations will be conducted on July 30, campaigns will take place on July 31 and voting will be held on August 1. He clarified that candidates who had already been validly nominated will not be required to seek fresh nominations.

He further said that in villages where polling proceeded despite the death of a nominated candidate and the deceased was replaced by a person who had not been duly nominated by the Electoral Commission, the results are invalid. He noted that where residents petition the Commission over such elections, fresh polls will also be conducted.

The Electoral Commission chairperson said the Commission has received numerous petitions challenging election outcomes in various villages and assured the public that all complaints will be investigated before any further action is taken.