Akecha says they have evidence of NRM party members giving out money to voters in various areas within the constituency where they have been campaigning. He alleges that the majority of those being given money are women who receive about shillings 1 million at every rally.
A local leader hands over 10,000 note to one of the residents of Ocok Village, Kec Okela Parish, Akidi Subcounty in Omoro District shortly after NRM Candidate Andrew Ojok Oulanyah held his rally in Friday afternoon.
The Opposition political candidates
vying for the Omoro County Parliamentary seat are accusing the National
Resistance Movement - NRM Party officials of allegedly bribing voters.
Six candidates are campaigning to
fill the vacant Omoro County Parliamentary seat ahead of the by-election slated
for May 26th, 2022.
The candidates are; Simon Toolit
Akecha, National Unity Platform-NUP flag bearer, Andrew Ojok Oulanyah, NRM flag
bearer, and Oscar Kizza, the Alliance for National Transformation-ANT flag bearer.
Others are; Terrence Odonga, Jimmy Walter Onen, and Justine Odong, the Forum for
Democratic Change-FDC flag bearer.
Some of the opposition candidates however
allege that since the open campaigns commenced on Monday the NRM officials
have been dishing money in every rally convened by their candidate Ojok.
Akecha says they have evidence of
NRM party members giving out money to voters in various areas within the
constituency where they have been campaigning. He alleges that the majority of
those being given money are women who receive about shillings 1 million at every rally.
//Cue in: “They just deceive…
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Uganda Radio Network has also
witnessed the issuance of money by some NRM party members to electorates in
several areas after campaign rallies held between Monday and Friday in Omoro Constituency.
For instance, in Te-Olam Village,
Odek Sub-county on the first day of the campaigns, the NRM candidate Ojok through his campaign team left supporters with shillings 1.2 million at the end of his rally.
Other areas where the candidate issued the same
amount of money include Te-Ober village, Lwala Parish in Odek Sub-county on May
17, Binya Central Village in Binya, Oropwoyo Sub-county on May 18, Parish, and Ocok
Village in Kec Okela Parish, Akidi Sub-county on May 20.
But Emmanuel Dombo, the NRM
Director of Communication denied the allegations that their members are dishing
out money to bribe voters during rallies. He says they have instead been giving
out sodas and water to quench the thirst of their supporters due to the current hot
weather.
//cue in: “in rallies people…
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Movement.”//
Dombo notes that the party doesn’t
support its members giving money to voters during campaigns unless it’s
a meeting that requires a transport refund.
//cue in: “to give money…
Cue in:…require transport
refund.”//
Rosemary Seninde, the NRM
Director for Mobilization equally refuted the claims that they are bribing
voters during their campaigns arguing that they are well versed with the
electoral commission guidelines. She says it’s not a crime to give their supporters
a “drink” at the end of a meeting or campaign.
//cue in: “as far as…
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The Electoral Commission Spokesperson
Paul Bukenya told URN in an interview on Friday that they can only handle the complaint
of voter bribery if the claims are formally tendered before them for further
investigation.
“We handle cases that are brought
to us formally, the evidence and all that. If someone has observed non-compliance
with the guidelines for the campaign should report them. We were very clear on
guiding the candidates,” says Bukenya.
According to the Electoral Commission road map the campaigns are expected to end on May 24th, 2022.
