Despite the Electoral Commission declaring today a public holiday, there has been poor turnout for local council elections around Kampala today.
When the EagleOnline visited the Makerere and Bwaise areas, voters at polling stations acknowledged that voting materials arrived on time but wondered why people did not turn up in big numbers to choose their leaders.
Indeed, at all the seven polling stations visited in the two areas security was tight with each polling station having about five officers.
“People are calm and few; we don’t expect any chaos at all,” said Livingstone Lule, a voter.
Esau Taremwa, a resident in Makerere noted that people had lost hope in the voting process because they felt their candidates were cheated in the recently concluded Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
“These few numbers came to vote for the Lord Mayor; people are fed up with the electoral process,” Taremwa said.
During the recently concluded elections where Museveni was declared winner, his archrival Col (rtd) Kizza Besigye disputed the results citing irregularities in the process.
Moses Baluku, a resident of Bwaise, shares Besigye’s sentiments. “People are not sure if their choice really matters and are in shock,” he says.
A polling agent, Hosea Mugisha agrees there has been low turnout, something he attributes to voters not being so attached to the contesting candidates. “They will turn out in the village elections because they personally know the people contesting,” expressed Mugisha.
Meanwhile, at Molly Law and Joy polling station in Kitintale, Nakawa Division in Kampala, only 30 people had lined up to vote by 11am, reports Steven Mandu.
There were almost similar cases in several other polling stations across Nakawa and Kampala Central where this reporter covered.
According to social media reports there has been a low turnout in most places countrywide.
Elections will close at 4:00pm.
Meanwhile, in Kyankwanzi district the elections for chairperson have been postponed due to errors on the ballot papers.
The candidates contesting for the District Chairperson include the incumbent Mr Leopold Ddamurila Kinene (NRM), and Wilson Konde Busuulwa and John Mpuuga, both independent candidates.
Konde has a radio symbol; Mpuuga has a clock and Kinene has a bus.
However on the ballot paper, Mpuuga was given the symbol of a radio instead of a clock, which prompted the electorate to reject voting.
Consequently, the Electoral Commission decided to postpone the elections to a date that will be communicated.
However, the Kyankwanzi District Returning Officer Ms Harriet Kashagyire said that elections for other posts is ongoing.
