Daniel Satya, the Electoral Commission Supervisor for Kaseko Sub county says that during the registration and update of the voter register, the particulars of Kapnarkut town council were never submitted since the town council was new. He said that the 9 voters remained in the old parish in its mother sub county of Benet.
Kapsoboiywo polling station that is situated in Kapsomboyo
Parish, Kapnarkut Town Council in Kween district used two voter’s
registers during the recently concluded general elections.
The station was first registered (and recognized) as the
country’s smallest polling station with only 9 voters, according to Electoral
Commission data released before January 14th presidential election.
Out of the 9 registered voters, 7 participated in the presidential
election. The same register was used during LCV district chairperson elections.
However, the polling station received a new voters register with
more 85 voters who participated in the LCIII elections. The new register
brought the number of voters at the polling station to 94. The Parish has 6 cells
with a total population of over 1,000 people, according to local leaders.
Daniel Satya, the Electoral Commission Supervisor for Kaseko Sub
county says that during the registration and update of the voter register, the
particulars of Kapnarkut town council were never submitted since the town
council was new.
He said that the 9 voters remained in the old parish in its
mother sub county of Benet.
Satya
says the electoral officials realized the problem when
they were updating. The Commission ordered for another registration of
the
voters in the new ward of Kapnarkut which increased the voters to 94.
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But by the time the new voters’ register was brought, two elections had
already been
conducted with only 9 voters participating in the presidential,
parliamentary
and the LCV elections.
“The new register came back a day to the elections of the LCIII
Chairpersons, so we had to mobilize the voters to turn up for the voting now
using the new register which had 94 voters” he said.
Fred Chebeti, the Beneti Sub County Chairperson who is also the
Acting Chairperson for Kapnarkut town council wonders how the electoral commission
issued a voters register with only 9 voters yet the parish has over 1000 people.
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Alex Sande, the Chairperson LCII of Taragon Parish in the Benet
sub county said the problem started earlier and the Electoral Commission explained to the local leaders that those were the only people registered and
eligible for voting.
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After they complained of having only 9 registered
voters, Sande says the Electoral Commission embarked on fresh registration but the
register came late when three elections had already been held.
Like Kapsoboiywo, Bumayoka parish in Bumayoka Sub County in
Bududa district registered only 13 voters.
According to local leaders, Bumayoka Sub County gave birth to
Kuushu Town Council and the parish (Bamayoka) which was supposed to be part of
the new town council remained hanging as it was neither allocated to Bumayoka nor to Kuushu Town Council.
Bumayoka Parish has got four villages of Mabale,
Lumbuku,Lukonga,Kuushu A.
Residents say most of the people who were in Bumayoka parish
were taken to the two wards of Bunamee and Bunashiswa in Kuushu Town Council
leaving it with only 13 registered voters.
Seera Agatha, one of the residents of the same parish said she
had hoped she would be "carved out" to Kushu Town Council since she belongs to
Bunamee cell as per her identity card.
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According to Robert Mukoya, the Bumayoka sub county supervisor
for electoral commission, the parish was supposed to be in Kushu town council
because most of the villages were part of Kuushu town council which was
carved out of Bumayoka Sub County.
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Dison Walandama the parish chairperson Bumayoka said after
carving Kuushu town council, they thought Bumayoka parish would be among the
wards in the new town council which was not the case.
He is now confused over how
the government remained with a parish "which doesn’t exist".
Ronald Nsereko, the
Bududa district electoral commission returning officer said the police station
was created out of need by the leaders in the area who asked for it.
He said
leaders asked him to create the polling station saying they were trekking a long
distance to the next polling station in Kuushu town council which is why they
only got 13 people who registered to vote from the old polling station.
