“Following complaints from the public, some presiding officers have been dropped altogether, while others have been transferred to different polling stations to ensure transparency and fairness,” he said.
At least 25 village chairpersons in Mukono District have been elected unopposed ahead of Tuesday’s Local Council One (LC1) elections, as electoral and security officials declared their readiness for the nationwide village polls.
Speaking during a joint media briefing at the Mukono District headquarters on Monday, Mukono District Returning Officer George William Eliau said 20 of the unopposed candidates belong to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), two are from the National Unity Platform (NUP), while three contested as independents.
Eliau attributed some of the unopposed victories to the withdrawal of candidates following a directive by the Minister for Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, requiring civil servants to first resign from public service before contesting for political offices.
“We are fully prepared for the elections. All the district’s 610 villages, which also serve as polling stations, have been assigned a trained presiding officer, a polling assistant and a security officer,” Eliau said.
He added that the Electoral Commission had taken action against some election officials whose conduct was questioned during last week’s Women Council elections.
“Following complaints from the public, some presiding officers have been dropped altogether, while others have been transferred to different polling stations to ensure transparency and fairness,” he said.
Eliau also urged voters to remain at their polling stations after electing the LC1 chairperson so they can participate in approving the chairperson’s proposed executive committee.
“The chairperson will nominate members of the executive committee, and the voters have the right to approve or reject the nominees. If any nominee is rejected, he or she must be replaced,” Eliau explained.
He reminded voters that, in accordance with the law, at least one-third of the executive committee members must be women.
“The executive committee must have not less than one-third women, meaning there should be at least four female members,” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, Mukono Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Hajat Fatuma Ndisaba Nabitaka warned schools against involving boarding students in Tuesday’s LC1 elections, saying the practice is illegal and could spark violence.
Ndisaba revealed that district security had received intelligence reports indicating that some school administrators had registered boarding students on village voters’ registers to enable them to vote.
Although she declined to name the schools involved, she said security agencies had identified them and would deploy monitoring teams to prevent students from participating in the elections.
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“We have identified those involved, and residents have also provided us with information about the affected villages. We are closely monitoring the situation because we do not want violence involving students that could lead to bloodshed. Parents send their children to boarding schools to study, not to elect village leaders. Any school found engaging in this practice will be held accountable,” Ndisaba warned.
The RDC said the district security meeting was attended by the Returning Officer, police commanders from Mukono and Naggalama divisions, and the District Internal Security Officer (DISO).
She added that personnel from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda Prisons Service had already been deployed across the district to ensure peaceful elections.
Ndisaba further disclosed that security had identified 75 villages as potential violence hotspots, with additional officers deployed to maintain law and order.
She said some of the identified hotspots are located in industrial areas, where reports indicate that factory workers have been discouraged from voting on the grounds that they are not residents.
Clarifying the law, Ndisaba said workers are legally entitled to vote in the areas where they work.
“The law allows people to vote where they work, and these workers have a right to cast their ballots from those locations,” she said.
Both electoral and security officials expressed confidence that all necessary preparations had been completed and appealed to residents to conduct themselves peacefully and respect the electoral process throughout Tuesday’s village elections.
