Primary Healthcare minister Sarah Opendi has said the NRM Electoral Commission chairman, Dr. Tanga Odoi should be fired for mismanaging the NRM primaries.
“Odoi should be relieved of his duties if our party is to be safe. He does not listen when other people talk to him. How come he never looked into my petition. I have contested as an independent because my voters asked me to do so. My loss was an own goal scored into my goal post because the electoral commission misplaced my name on the ballot paper. I was supposed to be number one, but I was placed as number two.
Tanga knew my strategy and that is why he made ballot papers that confused my voters. They ticked my opponenet instead of me. So, if I had not come as an independent, NRM would have lost this seat,” Opendi says.
Her opponent Jacinta Ayo Athieno fires back
First of all, voters are not got in court. I defeated Opendi because she left a big gap between herself and the voters. In a football match, one team should win and this time it was me. The issue of placing names is nothing. She is telling lies. What about the areas where she won. Werent voters using the same ballot papers?
The minister should concede defeat because people elected me. I request her to come and we work together and get out of the race because she will not get votes.
Sarah Opendi reminds people that she is still health state minister before cautioning drivers to be careful, residents to fight cholera and the youth to avoid risky behaviours during the festive season.
All these exchanges happened as the voters waited for president Yoweri Museveni at Mella Primary School in sub-county, Tororo district. The president is campaigning in the area.
Nevertheless the battle of words did not make Ayo forget some of the important issues she feels the president should address come 2016.
Ayo says, the road from Malaba to Kwapa should be tarmacked as well as the road to Nagongera, Busolwe and Budumba. The promotion of women because most of them are still very poor; single mothers and widows are suffering with no income. The issue of household incomes is very crucial and I wish the president could do more.
Fox Odoi backs Opendi
With due respect, the party primaries were deliberately mismanaged. So, no one should say they were winners of such elections. I am one of the victims of such mismanagement when my votes in West Budama North were rigged.
All thses flag-bearers declared by Tanga Odoi will not win elections here because they are products of a suicidal electoral process. We, therefore, need to study our internal way of organising programmes such as elections.
Maybe we should first gather more facilities for the party to hold primaries. For me, contesting as an independent against Okoth Othieno is the right thing because everyone knows he has never been politically stronger than me.
