Polling in the two divisions of Entebbe municipality Wakiso district has been canceled, according to the district returning officer Hajjat Sarah Bukirwa.
Bukirwa said she was forced to cancel the exercise after seals on some of the boxes containing the ballot papers were found broken.
“By the time our materials were delivered the Entebbe Police Station, eight of the boxes had their seals broken. This prompted us call parties involved in the exercise for a solution but we failed to reach a consensus.
This forced me to cancel the exercise in the divisions of Entebbe A and B,” she explained. The returning officer blamed the poor roads in the area that led to breakage of the seals on the ballot boxes.
She added that canceled exercise includes the division chairpersons, directly elected councilors and the women councilors.
Twaha Ssempala (NRM) LC3 chairperson candidate Division B said they could not allow the polling to on because the seals were broken.
“We think this has been the trend in Entebbe where by ballot boxes have been delivered with broken seals. The electoral Commission (EC) has to explain more,” he said.
“We have invested a lot of time, energy and money in this exercise, so we call upon the EC to come out with a binding reason for this confusion,” Sarah Nakito, a woman councillor candidate in Entebbe requested.
Meanwhile polling in the other 25 sub-counties of Wakiso district went on smoothly though registering a low turn up.
“The district is made of 27 sub-counties. Voting in the 25 sub-counties was conducted as usual and voters have been seen coming to polling stations. Except the challenges we encountered in Entebbe, other parts of the district have been okay,” she said.
She noted that they will wait for the orders from the Electoral Commission boss for the dates of the exercises.
The situation was calmed down as the deployment was heavy in parts of Entebbe and Wakiso district to quell the violence from the rioters and those who are not contented with the development.
The district Police Chief Benard Katwalo explained that, “The situation is calm in Entebbe and Wakiso and it has been easy for us to deploy in those areas where elections are taking place.”
Others wise unlike the excitement and enthusiasm in the past polls in Uganda yesterday’s sub county and municipal division elections registered very low turn up in Wakiso district as many areas started polling late due to the early morning drizzle.
In some polling stations, the EC personnel waited for over hours after 6am before they could register the mandatory five voters to start the exercise.
And even where the five were got, the mood was low as voters were coming one by one as and when they pleased. “As long as we elected the president and members of parliament, even if I do not vote, I am not bothered,” Muareen Akello a resident of Entebbe.
Agents of candidates and poll official were just as relaxed and could be seen lounging on tables and chairs.
