The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, Richard Todwong, has pledged to investigate allegations of irregularities in the recently concluded party structures and Local Council One (LC1) flag bearers election.
On Tuesday, the NRM held elections for LC1 flag bearers and party structures in 72,000 villages across the country, in preparation for the upcoming 2026 general elections. However, there have been reports of irregularities, including missing voter names, unregistered candidates, and illegal voting at some polling stations.
In Nwoya district, several voters in Purongo Town Council were unable to vote due to their names being absent from the voter register or not being transferred to their preferred polling stations. David Ojok Labista, a voter from Bunga Central village in Purongo Town Council, shared that although he had registered to vote at Bunga Trading Center, he found his name listed a kilometer away from his designated polling station.
He added that many others were similarly affected, preventing them from participating in the NRM LC1 flag bearer election due to registration issues.
In Gulu district, the LC1 election in Penya Village, Pugwinyi Parish, Owor Sub-county was called off yesterday following a violent confrontation between the contestants. James Ocen, the NRM Chairperson for Gulu District, explained that while they expected the election to be peaceful, the violence led to its suspension. He confirmed that the election would be held today, May 7.
Ocen also pointed out that limited sensitization about the election affected its procedures, with many voters focusing solely on the LC1 election, overlooking the village structure elections. Meanwhile, in Gulu City, the election in Kati Kati East Cell, Alokolum Parish, Bardege-Layibi Division, was suspended due to allegations of illegal voting. David Nyeko, the NRM party Registrar for Gulu City, told Uganda Radio Network that the election in Kati Kati Cell was held three times, but all results were contested by the candidates before it was suspended.
Nyeko explained that candidates complained of illegal voters joining the queue, despite not being legitimate residents of the cell. “After conducting the election three times and having all the results rejected by the candidates, we decided to suspend it and reschedule for Wednesday. We are hopeful that today’s election will be peaceful,” Nyeko said. Speaking with Uganda Radio Network on Tuesday, Todwong acknowledged receiving complaints about irregularities during the grassroots election and assured that an investigation would take place. He noted that some of the complaints involved the intentional removal of potential candidates from the voter register.
“We will investigate because many of the names that went missing from the register are those of potential candidates, and that has raised concerns. It might have been foul play, but we will find out,” Todwong said. Despite the glitches, Todwong noted that the elections across the country proceeded smoothly, with 2.2 million grassroots leaders elected during Tuesday’s NRM election exercise.
Looking ahead, Todwong mentioned that the NRM party is preparing for the next stage of elections at the parish and sub-county levels. He also explained that although some areas held elections while others were suspended, the election in Rubirizi district was postponed by the party’s National Chairperson due to a conflict with a popular market day.
The Electoral Commission (EC) had earlier released the road map for the 2025/2026 general elections. Nominations for the Parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled to be held between September 16 and October 3, 2025. Campaigns are expected to begin in the second week of October, with polling for the presidential and parliamentary elections set for January 12, 2026.
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