MBARARA. Veteran politician and minister of justice and constitutional affairs Norbert Mao has won the highly disputed internal polls sealing his dominance at the helm of Uganda’s oldest political party , Democratic Party for another five years .
During the chaotic four-day national delegates conference in Mbarara City on Monday Mao was declared win after garnering 969 votes, defeating his closest challenger, Buikwe South MP Dr Michael Lulume Bayiga, who polled 339 votes. Mr Eria Alitia came in third with just 52 votes.
Another aspiring candidate, Mr Richard Sebamala, was disqualified on the grounds of not meeting the party’s requirements, including the stipulation of having been an active member of the party for at least 10 years. In other results, Dr Gerald Siranda, Uganda’s representative to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), retained his position as DP secretary general after defeating Mr Ismael Kirya with 870 votes to 31 .
Mr Fred Mukasa Mbidde ,a former EALE legislator sailed through unopposed for the position of vice president, while Ms Mary Babirye Kabanda retained her position as treasurer. The results were announced by the presiding officer, Mr Kennedy Mutenyo, at 7:50pm in a function attended by a limited number of delegates and many had earlier abandoned the venue citing massive rigging and brutality by police ,army and plain clothed security operatives who were guarding the venue .
Mr Mutenyo said the elections were “free and fair,” despite the challenges that marred the event for four days including falsifying the register and denying delegates meals “We had some difficulties, including attempts to disrupt the conference by those who claimed we had sold the party. But with the success of this election, the answer is now clear,” he said.
In his acceptance speech Mr Mao,who has been leading DP for 15 years promised to unity disgruntled party members and expressed mixed emotions about his victory.
“I thank God for this win, but I’m not as joyful as people may assume. Carrying the weight of DP is no easy task. This was a stiff competition—I was surrounded by enemies. But despite that, we have won,” he said.
“While some delegates had been misled during the campaigns, the party would strive to reconcile and unite all members. We shall welcome the lost sheep—the prodigal sons—back home with open arms,” he said.
Looking ahead, Mr Mao said the party’s target is to have at least 50 Members of Parliament in next year’s general elections. Earlier in the day, confusion erupted after ballot boxes were abruptly moved from the tally centre, originally set up in an open space, to the hotel.
Disgruntled delegates alleged that the move was orchestrated to rig the elections in favour of certain party officials, particularly Mr Mao, who they accuse of hobnobbing with President Museveni who gave him a ministerial job but masquerade as an opposition politician
Since Thursday, the day delegates’ arrived for the conference, the function had been held under a tent erected at Asamar Country Resort Hotel. But on Monday at around 6:30am, chaos ensued when Mr Mutenyo announced that the tally centre was being relocated to the hotel. “The contract we had with the tent service provider expired. We are now shifting the tally centre to the hotel,” Mr Mutenyo explained.
His announcement, however, was met with outrage, with delegates accusing him and other officials of attempting to manipulate the process.
“We have a party treasurer. Let them make the necessary financial arrangements to ensure a transparent process continues,” argued Mr Samson Irenga, a delegate from Masaka. Mr Mutenyo insisted that his role was limited to presiding over the elections.
“The tent owner notified us they would be dismantling the setup. That’s beyond my control,” he said. Surprisingly , the tents remained intact through out the day .
As tensions escalated, delegates attempted to guard the ballot boxes, only for plainclothes security personnel to storm the venue and seize the boxes at gunpoint.
A scuffle broke out, and in ensuing melee , some boxes were damaged, with ballot papers getting scattered before being hastily reassembled.