But according to interviews conducted with more than a dozen people from the two villages, Museveni did not score zero in the area: he scored 100 votes at St. Kizito Primary School (N-Z) and 152 votes at Nyambulie, giving him a total of 252 votes.
The Electoral Commission results from
the Presidential Election held on January 14, show that President Yoweri
Museveni scored zero at two polling stations in Tororo district. The stations include St. Kizito Primary
School (N-Z) situated in Amagoro B Ward Tororo Municipality and Nyambulie
situated in Senda Parish, West Budama North East Constituency.
But according to interviews conducted
with more than a dozen people from the two villages, Museveni did not score
zero in the area: he scored 100 votes at St. Kizito Primary School (N-Z) and
152 votes at Nyambulie, giving him a total of 252 votes. Still, the majority of
the votes here went to the National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Robert Ssentamu
Kyagulanyi.
Shaban Muganja, the LCI and NRM
chairman of the village where St. Kizito Primary School is located Muganja says
that although Kyagulanyi defeated Museveni at this polling station, the elderly
in the area voted for Museveni, and there is no polling station in Tororo where
Museveni “performed badly to the extent of getting zero.”
“That is rigging,” he says. “That
is very bad and it’s a crime.” He says the declaration signed by agents of all
presidential candidates are clear, showing that Kyagulanyi defeated Museveni
with a difference of eight votes.
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Kyagulanyi.”//
Clement Othieno, a resident who
says he voted for Museveni at St Kizito Primary School polling station says, the
votes were rigged if Electoral Commission says the president got zero at that
polling station. Cissy Namutebi, another resident who also voted for Museveni
says she feels “bad when they say Mzee Museveni got zero” at this polling
station.
Vox pop: Clement Othieno and
Cissy Namutebi
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A presiding officer of St Kizito
Primary School polling station, Davis Okach says Museveni got 100 votes but
slightly contradicts what others say was Kyagulanyi’s score. While he says
Kyagulanyi scored 109 votes, the other people that we interviewed say he got
108 votes.
“If the Election Commission tally
sheet read that the president got zero, he says it could be “an error.”
Kyagulanyi’s votes—108—are accurately captured in Electoral Commission tally
sheets. Okach claims that on the polling day, he realized that he had been
given junior polling assistants who didn’t know anything. He says he ended up
doing most of the work at the polling station.
//Cue in; “the president got…
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rectified.”//
Shocked by Museveni’s scores,
when the URN reporter visited Nyambulie village—where the second polling station is
located, the LCI vice-chairperson Ochieng Oculu, who was having lunch, jumped
off the table in shock. “I personally voted him,” he said.
Kyagulanyi’s agent at Nyambulie,
Achieng Justine said she was at the polling station when counting of votes
ended and she recorded “Kyagulanyi scoring 183 votes and Museveni getting 152
votes.” Kyagulanyi’s votes—183—are accurately captured in EC result sheets.
Opio Joshua, a polling assistant
at Nyabulie polling station also said Kyagulanyi emerged the victor at this
particular polling station with 183 votes and Museveni got 152 votes. Joshua
argued that anything that shows Museveni with zero scores is not the “true outcome of their polling station.”
Museveni has in the past
complained that NRM is sometimes rigged. But he has never explained at what
election level is NRM rigged and the extent of rigging or availed
evidence.
The fact that the president’s
votes at a polling station aren’t reflected in the tally sheet and NRM which
usually has eyes at every polling station and tally centre failed to detect the
anomaly, it is telling that the party’s vote protection team—unveiled weeks
before the election—failed to protect Museveni’s votes at all polling stations
across the country.
“I am not informed about that, I
would have let you know,” Phibby Otaala, the NRM Tororo vice chairperson said
when asked if the president scored zero at any polling station in the
district. When given names of these
polling stations, Otaala said, “I think that is total madness. How do you
expect him (Museveni) not to get anything at St. Kizito when that is his
stronghold? That one cannot be true.
Those are fabrications.”
And when asked why the NRM
leadership in Tororo failed to protect the president’s votes, she evaded the question, arguing that it’s the duty of the Electoral Commission Returning
Officer to announce the truth. “if you have evidence that the president got 100
votes and they gave him zero, I think that Electoral Commission Presiding
Officer and all those who were responsible should be reprimanded.”
Otaala questioned; “how do you
bring in the NRM leadership of Tororo to go to the tally centre, or polling
station and tell the presiding officer to enter true results. Is it how it
should be?”
She said this is a “big story”
because no single radio station in Tororo has broadcasted such news. Otaala
hastened to advise URN reporters to leave “Tororo out of confusion.” This kind
of confusion, she claimed, has been happening
only in Buganda.
Electoral Commission Spokesperson, Paul Bukenya said he needed time
to crosscheck documents from the area before commenting on the matter. All staff who could help with verification, he said
were busy organizing Wednesday election. He promised a response on Thursday.
Today, he said he was busy with other office assignments and couldn’t give a
definite day when he can crosscheck documents to give a comment.
URN also reached out to NRM
Director of Communication, Emmanuel Dombo who kept promising that he would
check if the president got zero at any polling station in Tororo.