By Spy Uganda
Kiruhura: The National Resistance movement party and its leaders may end up being dragged in court by Nyabushozi legislator who was declared as party’s parliamentary flag bearer before the party thought a re-election following multiple appeals from his rivals.
According to results declared by the electoral commission, Col Mwesigye pulled 36147 votes and his rival Wilson Kajwengye had 13248, something that left him unsatisfied hence appealing to President Museveni the party Chairman and party’s EC Dr Tanga Odoi seeking re-election.
As a result, President issued fresh directions to Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) and Inspector General Of Police (IGP) to intervene immediately and do thorough investigations into the matter and prosecute all those that were involved in the acts of vote ridging and inciting violence that might be the root cause of controversies.
Museveni said, “Depending on how the voters in the remaining 84 or how they will vote when there is a repeat, the results will be different.”
President added that the next option should be to add the 56 villages whose results were altered but were excavated by the field visits saying that this will bring the total of the villages to 172.
He said that 172 villages, where the 116 non-contentious villages plus the 56 villages, Fred Mwesigye was ahead of Kajwengye by 727 votes which he said was still a narrow margin and said 28 villages should be persuaded to vote again so that the issue is democratically resolved.
“As it turned out, Kajwengye stated he would not participate in the re-election exercise at the 26 polling stations. He thereby effectively withdrew his complaint and as a result, no re-election took place at the 26 polling stations after you decided to cancel them altogether. This decision was incorrect in fact and at law,” Col. Mwesigye says.
Mwesigye adds that he was so surprised after his results were endorsed and already finished the nomination process for the forthcoming general elections, to hear that the party is to hold primary re-elections on Thursday, noting that this is illegal since he was declared and endorsed as the winner by the same party.
“The party has exhausted its legal mandate with regard to the election and is not permitted by the national law to review or depart from its declaration and endorsement of our client as a flag bearer,” Mwesigye’s lawyers said.
Mwesigye adds, “An electoral process is like a river, it does not flow backwards. Every stage is conclusive of its own. Therefore, once the party exhausted its legal mandate with regard to the election and declared and endorsed our client as flag bearer, it is not permitted to review or depart from its declaration and endorsement.”
The lawyers warned, “In any case and for the reasons above, our client shall not participate in any other NRM processes regarding his status, including any fresh election exercises. He shall also vehemently contest them.”
