NRM Women Lock Electoral Officer for Nine Hours Over Buikwe Poll Cancellation

What the report says

NRM women in Buikwe District staged a protest after party officials suspended elections for the district’s National Women’s Council representative, keeping an electoral officer inside the party offices for about nine hours. The dispute, reported by Nile Post, began when voters were told that polling would not go ahead after a complaint from Njeru Central Division was taken to the NRM Electoral Commission chairman, Dr Tanga Odoi.

According to the account, electoral officer Peter Sserwada had begun reading names of voters from Buikwe’s 13 sub-counties before announcing the suspension. The women said it was unfair to halt voting across the district because of a complaint tied to one area. Esther Awori, an NRM supporter cited in the report, argued that the contested Njeru matter should not have stopped the wider election, especially if the disputed voter had already been removed from the process.

The standoff centered on a contest between Rose Mary Namuyanja and Bena Mulwana, whom the report says were associated with different senior NRM figures in the district. Buikwe District Police Commander Innocent Tusiime intervened and warned that detaining someone was unlawful, but the women continued their protest. The situation ended after Dr Tanga Odoi reportedly instructed Sserwada by phone to proceed with the election, and Mulwana was declared the winner.

The dispute highlights tensions inside the ruling party’s local structures and the sensitivity of internal elections when complaints in one division affect wider voting in a district.