Leaders of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) have blamed the party’s loss in the recently concluded By-election for Dokolo Woman parliamentary representative, to refusal to engage in acts of voter bribery, which they claim was the only sure option amid an impoverished electorate.
The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) candidate, Sarah Aguti Nyangkori, was on Thursday declared winner of a fairly peaceful By-election beating five other contestants including the ruling party (NRM) candidate Adongo Rose. NUP’s Ageno Harriet came in the 5th position, polling a paltry 1.55 percent (727 votes) of the total votes cast.
In a social media post published on his X account, NUP Secretary General, David Lewis Rubongoya, claims the outcome of the vote was eminent judging from voters’ huge appetite for money as they observed during campaigns.
Relating to the high poverty levels in Dokolo District and most parts of Northern Uganda, Rubongoya blames politicians from rival political camps for exploiting the vulnerability of the population (voters), to steal victory from NUP. Judging from huge crowds that attended their campaign rallies, Rubongoya implies that the result was twisted when rival politicians started dishing out 1000 shillings notes to voters.
“….the people received us very warmly in anticipation of money. Women laid down their clothes, waved branches and sang songs to receive us. You could see that not many were interested in the message being delivered. As soon as we arrived, they started forming themselves into groups to receive money, akin to what other candidates had done. Then two middle-aged women approached me to ask me how we were going to distribute the money to them. I told them that we’re not allowed to give out money during campaigns, and told them we were here to bring them a message. You should have seen their disappointment and that of the others who they told. The enthusiasm died down and we left that point knowing that we didn’t make a good impression.” He posted on X.
He condemns the acts of voter bribery especially when communities are ‘deliberately impoverished’ for political reasons.
Bellow is Mr. Lweis Rubongoya’s message he posted on his X account @DavidLRubongoya on Monday.
“Nothing dehumanises whole communities like poverty. And if you want to understand the effects of poverty, visit several parts of Northern Uganda. We’ve been to by-elections in Omoro, Oyam and Dokolo and the pattern is depressingly similar. The mindset of the vast majority of the people is that your words must be followed by some money. The same people who have impoverished them will return to them during an election cycle, share with them some crumbs off the loot and buy themselves votes. Some politicians well knowing the trick, normally go to these areas with changed notes of 1,000. In Dokolo, it was crazy. (Indeed, several who were found with this kind of money were briefly arrested both in Dokolo and Oyam and released shortly after.)
It is such a crisis that at one rally in Dokolo, the people received us very warmly in anticipation of money. Women laid down their clothes, waved branches and sang songs to receive us. You could see that not many were interested in the message being delivered. As soon as we arrived, they started forming themselves into groups to receive money, akin to what other candidates had done. Then two middle-aged women approached me to ask me how we were going to distribute the money to them. I told them that we’re not allowed to give out money during campaigns, and told them we were here to bring them a message. You should have seen their disappointment and that of the others who they told. The enthusiasm died down and we left that point knowing that we didn’t make a good impression.”
However, UPC Head of Media and Communications, Muzeyi Faizo disputed Rubongoya’s claim that their (UPC) victory in Dokolo By-election was anchored in voter bribery.
When contacted for a comment on this matter, Faizo confirmed that whereas there were incidents of voter bribery commissioned by “other political camps” in Dokolo By-election, UPC did not engage in such acts. He said UPC was firmly on ground right from day one to the end, and no one should claim their victory was as a result of any form of electoral malpractice.
“Indeed we encountered cases of bribery from other parties but the voters defied the temptations of bribery. They are the money but voted for UPC. As a party in opposition, we (UPC) didn’t have enough resources, and our victory can be attributed to commitment of party leaders, high-level organization, and a message that focused on concerns of voters” Mr. Muzeyi Faizo stated.
However, the Electoral Commission (EC) deputy spokesperson Paul Bukenya hailed Dokolo By-election as a successful and peaceful electoral excercise with no single incident registered by the EC complaints desk.
He said no single case of voter bribery was reported or registered, and the will of the people was fully exercised as voting progressed uninterrupted on all polling stations across the district.