Medical Association Postpones Elections After Messy AGM

After a chaotic Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mbarara City over the weekend, the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) is set to conduct fresh elections within 21 days to choose new leaders.

Outgoing UMA President Dr Herbert Luswata says that the polls, initially slated for November 8, were called off following multiple irregularities and disagreements among members.

According to Luswata, the General Assembly failed to appoint a returning officer as required by the association’s constitution. The process was further marred by disputes over the voting system, allegations of ghost voters, and confusion surrounding two separate voter registers. 

Luswata, who has been accused by some members of overstepping his mandate and meddling in the electoral process, said he foresaw possible chaos and invited senior members of the association to mediate. Among those called in were past presidents Dr Kenya Nathan Mugisha, Dr Fred Bisso, and Dr Edith Nakku Joloba.

However, after reviewing the situation, the elders and the association’s legal advisor advised that elections be postponed, citing the existence of two conflicting registers, one compiled by the Secretary General and another by the Treasurer.

Luswata added that even he, a fully paid-up member, would have been disenfranchised under one of the registers because his email address had been entered incorrectly, yet voting was to be conducted electronically.  

He said the association has now resolved to appoint a new electoral committee and convene an extraordinary meeting to conduct fresh elections within three weeks.

Before the botched election, Dr Frank Asiimwe, a kidney transplant specialist and presidential candidate, had accused Luswata of interfering with the work of the electoral committee from the start of the process. 

Asiimwe alleged that the outgoing president attempted to influence key decisions, from the choice of the voting system to the appointment of the returning officer, saying such moves were driven by “dubious intentions.”

In his defence, Luswata explained that the National Executive Committee had agreed to adopt both Trionec Technologies (a local IT firm) and Nemovote, an online system used by the World Medical Association, to ensure transparency and accommodate members who distrusted the local vendor.  

Meanwhile, Dr Andrew Mark Muyanga, UMA’s outgoing publicity chairperson, described the weekend events as a “storm of shouting, accusations, and counteraccusations” triggered by attempts to hijack the electoral process.  

He said the Ad hoc Electoral Committee was crippled by failure to access funds for the approved voting system and by the circulation of what he termed “fake subscription lists” containing more than 200 fraudulent email addresses.   

Once held, the new elections will usher in leaders who will serve a two-year term. The presidential race pits Dr Frank Asiimwe against Dr Asiphas Owaraganise, a gynaecologist and senior member of the association.