The race for Busia LCV seat has been cut short with the Electoral Commission declaring independent candidate, Geoffrey Wandera unopposed winner.
This follows the pulling out of the race by the other two independent candidates; Tonny Ojambo and Chrispus Bwire this morning.
Wandera, a former district speaker has been declared by the district returning officer, Umar Kiyimba. Kiyimba said: “The law providea that when all other candidates pull out of the race, the remaining ine is declared unopposed and sworn in.”
Initially five candidates were nominated for the race but the two leading candidates; Boniface Paul Oguttu (NRM) and Deogratius Njoki (DP) were last Friday pulled out of the race by the electoral commission on technical grounds.
The opposition was the first to run to the Electoral Commission seeking disqualification of the NRM candidate from the race. Later, the NRM did the same. The NRM candidate is reported to have lacked the required academic qualifications.
The electoral commission later realised that, the DP candidate was nominated under the names Hasubi Deogratius Njoki, yet on the national voters register as well as his national ID his names are Hasubi Deogratius.
Although Njoki had formally changed his names with the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), he did not present the papers from NIRA to the EC on time.
“In view of the above, the commission resolved that the person nominated under the names Hasubi Deogratius Njoki is not a registered voter under the National Voters Register and thus over turned the Returning Officer’s decision to have you nominated for the position of Busia District Chairperson,” EC boss, Byabakama stated in a letter.
On the other hand, the NRM candidate was removed from the race because his names, Oguttu Boniface Paul didn’t match the names on the requisite academic documents accompanying his nomination papers.
The three who remained in the race, campaigned at the weekend as rumour spread in Busia town that Wandera was persuading his two rivals to pull out of the race in his favour. Sources allege that ruling National Resistance Movement party through its deputy Secretary General, Richard Twodong lured the two with promises that the party would give them jobs on top of refunding all the funds used in the campaigns.
The Electoral Commission has denied knowledge of such talks. The district Returning Officer said he only recieved Ojambo and Bwire’s official withdrawal from the race.
“When a candidate chooses to withdraw from the race, you don’t ask them why. Because it is their constitutional mandate,” Kiyimba told this Eagle Online.
The seat fell vacant in May this year after the Court of Appeal nullified the election of the incumbent, Mr. Ouma Adea, on grounds that he had been convicted of corruption in 2013.