NRM Tribunal Kicks Out Petition against Kinyamatama Win

The National Resistance Movement-NRM Elections Dispute Tribunal has upheld the results for the party primary elections for Rakai district Woman MP flag bearer.

The tribunal, chaired by John Musiime, dismissed the petition by Asha Lubyayi Kayanja, who was seeking to overturn the re-election of Juliet Ssuubi Kinyamatama, alleging outright vote rigging. 

Lubyayi challenged the results from the July 17th party primaries, alleging that the elections were marred by gross irregularities.

She accused Kinyamatama of conniving with the various party sub-county election registrars to alter election results and deploying gangs that stormed various polling stations where they committed violence against voters.

According to election results by Robert Ssesanga, the NRM Election Register for Rakai district, Kinyamatama retained the party flag after she defeated Lubyayi with 44,556 votes against 32,174 votes. Robina Kamazinga emerged third with 3,223 votes.

But in her petition, Lubyayi alleged that at various polling stations, voting did not take place, and the election officials were either bribed or coerced to fill declaration of results forms in favour of the incumbent woman MP.

The petition coincided with public outbursts by retired Major General Elli Kayanja, who bitterly challenged the integrity of the party primaries in Rakai district, which he described as a sham.

Gen. Kayanja, an elder brother of the petitioner, openly criticised the party’s Electoral Commission and security organs in Rakai district for deliberately tolerating irregularities in favour of the incumbent.

He made specific reference to several vehicles that he said were used by the incumbent to transport gangs that went around beating voters on the election day.

In a recorded video that went viral, Gen Kayanja likened the party primaries in Rakai district to the 1980 incident of election rigging, which was a precursor of the subsequent guerrilla war that ousted Milton Obote’s government by the National Resistance Army rebels.

“We paid a heavy price, including risking our lives to bring democracy in the country, but what we are witnessing now is not what we fought for. We cannot accept this happening,” he noted.

He also demanded that, besides the Election Officials, the local security personnel be held liable for tolerating the election malpractices that played out in the area.

Despite the outbursts and subsequent threats, the Party Election disputes tribunal threw out the petition for lack of substantial evidence to prove the allegations.

“Having failed to prove the allegations to the required standard, the petitioner is not entitled to the relief sought. The tribunal finds no sufficient basis to set aside the election or to order for fresh poll,” the ruling reads in part.

The tribunal accordingly upheld the election results that gave Kinyamatama victory to retain the party flag for Rakai district Woman MP candidate for the next general elections.