KAMPALA. The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has suspended elections for the party Entrepreneurs League leaders following allegations of bribery and irregularities .
The election is pitting two moneyed businessmen, the incumbent Al Hassan Basajjabalaba and Ceasar Mulenga.
According to Mr Tanga Odoi , the NRM Electoral Commission chairperson , the election will for Chairperson of the Entrepreneurs League who directly sits on the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) had been postponed until further notice.
“ Following consultations with the party chairperson in the presence of the secretary general ,we have suspended the elections until further notice ,” he said
The bitter rivalry between Basajjabalaba, who has vast investments in education and real estate, and Mulenga, a wealthy industrialist from south western Uganda, has divided party delegates and sparked claims of massive vote buying.
Sources inside the party said both camps had been accused of dishing out cash to sway voters, while some delegates were allegedly ferried to neighboring Kenya, Tanzania, and even Rwanda a couple of weeks ago to deny other candidates a chance to interact with them
Former Tororo Municipality MP and businessman Sanjay Tanna had earlier withdrew from the race, citing voter bribery and denial to meet the delegates .
“We realized that many delegates who were supposed to vote for us were missing from their constituencies. Some were herded out of the country and others locked up in hotels. To avoid tearing apart the party, I have chosen to step aside,” Tanna said
Since May , when the NRM started its internal elections ,the party has been rocked by allegations of bribery, intimidation, and open clashes, raising concerns about its credibility as it prepares for next year’s general elections.