Unexplained Delays Mark Start of Voting in Sironko

Voting materials dispatched from the Electoral Commission office in Sironko at 5 a.m. today still haven’t reached polling stations around the eastern Ugandan district.

Robert Baine, the Sironko Returning Officer, says ballot boxes and ballot papers were sent two hours ahead of time to ensure that polls would open at exactly 7a.m.

However by 8:30 a.m. only a handful of polling stations had opened for the day.

At Buyuya polling station, where the State Minister for the Presidency Beatrice Wabudeya is expected to vote, about 100 people had gathered by 7 a.m. The polling officials were at a loss of what to do because they had not received any communication on how long the delay would last.

Similar circumstances prevailed at Natoli and Busamaga polling stations.

Lydia Nanono, a polling agent at Buyuya, says she suspects the problem was caused by a lack of communication between the area sub-county officials at Nalusana and the various polling station. She has traveled to the Nalusana headquarters to try to retrieve the voting materials herself.

In the meantime, the number of people waiting to vote in Sironko is growing by the hour.

Several voters mentioned that they are eagerly anticipating the outcome of the Budadiri West parliamentary elections in which Wabudeya is contesting against Forum for Democratic Change heavyweight Nathan Nandala Mafabi and two independent candidates – Geoffrey Gidongo and Livingstone Giruli.