Abayita Ababiri LC1 Repeat Poll Halted After Violence

What the report says

The Electoral Commission has stopped a repeat Local Council I (LC1) election in Abayita Ababiri Village, Katabi Town Council, Wakiso District, after violence broke out at the polling station, according to Nile Post. The clash involved supporters of rival candidates and left one Electoral Commission official injured. There were also allegations that security personnel assaulted a polling agent, though those claims were not independently verified in the report.

The contest was between National Resistance Movement candidate Fred Mulumba Bunkedeko and incumbent Abbey Ssebowa. Returning Officer Sam Agaba Rutemba ordered the voting halted after supporters allegedly forced their way past a barrier into the polling area. A resident, Shamim Kaitesi, said the trouble began when people who were not on the village register were brought into the queue. She also alleged that party supporters had sought help from soldiers attached to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Special Forces Command at Kasenyi Barracks, a claim the article said had not been verified.

Ssebowa supported the decision to stop the process, saying the disruption started when a polling agent opened a path through the barrier. Franco Kajura Bwakya, the NRM flag bearer for the town council, said he was disappointed by the cancellation and expected his party to win. The article said the Electoral Commission had not yet announced a new date, leaving the village without a chairperson for now. The repeat poll followed an earlier election that was nullified after a petition.