Among Unopposed following Police Scheme to Block Opposition Candidates from Nomination Center

The security forces and the Electoral Commission are accused of blocking three aspirants from getting nominated for the Bukedea Woman MP seat.

The move has been widely viewed by the parliamentary hopefuls as a deliberate attempt to allegedly hand the incumbent Woman MP, Anita Among, also Speaker of Parliament, a chance to sail through unopposed to represent Bukedea in the 12th Parliament.  

Some opposition candidates openly complained about the actions of the Police and electoral officials for having directly participated in the electoral manipulation, denying them their right to present themselves for election to the political offices.

‎All the opposition aspirants were blocked by security from accessing the Electoral Commission premises and turned away without providing a clear reason for the restrictions. They were informed that they were not allowed to enter as it was the order from the Regional Elections Officer.

‎The nomination center was filled with supporters of Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among, being supervised by Chris Obore, the Director of Communications in Parliament.

‎Obore, together with the DPC Bukedea, Emmy Lorika, was responsible for determining who should be allowed inside and who should be denied access at the gate of the nomination center.

‎Norma Susan Otai, the aspirant for the Bukedea Woman MP seat from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), was at the nomination center by midday on Thursday.

Upon arriving at the gate, she found it locked, and in her interaction with police officers at the gate, she was told that consultations were still ongoing to ascertain if she should be allowed in.

“This shows that these people are protecting the gains of Anita to declare her unopposed. We do not have a court order barring us from being nominated or directing the EC not to nominate us. The reason we are here at this nomination center as Ugandans is that we are never allowed access to the venue when we have even shown them our national IDs,” Otai expressed.

‎Charles Ongelech, an aspirant for Kachumbala County, arrived at the nomination center at 1:50 PM but was not allowed to enter.

He was informed that he needed clearance from the DPC before he could access the nomination center.

“I paid my nomination fees on Monday, and all my papers are certified. What’s the reason for denying me entry?” he questioned.

Mercy Marion Alupo, an aspirant who was the former flag bearer for NUP (which later switched to Florence Asio after Alupo’s name was deleted from the voter’s register), showed up as an independent aspirant.

‎She was told to stay outside the gate as her issues were being discussed and addressed. Alupo, who was frustrated, said a lot was involved to ensure that Speaker Anita comes unopposed. “You can see that even accessing this gate is an issue because there is deployment in every corner,” she noted.

Lorika, whose role was to clear every aspirant, told the press that he was operating on the orders from the regional elections officer (REO), who instructed that everyone should be cleared before they accessed the venue.

On the first day of nominations, Wednesday, October 23, the Electoral Commission nominated only four candidates: Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among for the Bukedea Woman MP seat, Rose Akol Okulu for Bukedea County seat, David Beckham Okwere for Bukedea County, and Patrick Isiagi Opolot for Kachumbala County seat.

‎However, network disruptions soon arose, preventing officials from continuing their work. Charles Joel Mugyenyi, the returning officer for Bukedea District, stated that operations began well but were interrupted by network issues.

As of today, it is not yet clear how many aspirants were nominated because journalists were barred from accessing the nomination center.

Charles Ongelech was eventually allowed to access the nomination center, and his papers were being verified afresh after he stormed the gate calling for his nomination.

Florence Asio, who was handed the NUP flag, did not show up at the nomination center, and attempts to reach out to her for a comment regarding her absence were futile, as she was not picking up any calls.

The nomination center in Bukedea was locked and guarded by security personnel, both in police uniform and plain clothes, who prevented opposition candidates and the press from accessing the nomination center.