Thousands of pre-ticked ballot papers in favor of the NRM candidate, Nathan Igeme Nabeta, were today morning discovered from Iganga Road Junction Polling Station, according to election watchdog, Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU).
This is in the ongoing Jinja East parliamentary by-election.
The Electoral Commission has denied knowledge that the pre-ticked ballot papers existed. According to Jotham Talemwa, the EC spokesperson, the ballot papers do not belong to the electoral body.
"We have verified the serial numbers of these ballot papers and found out that they are not EC ballot papers. Security has been requested to follow up on this and arrest the culprits. The good news is that each candidate was supplied with a file containing serial numbers of the ballots in this by election," he says.
Our reporter on ground says that out of 47 polling stations, rampant cases of violence have been reported at Main Street primary school Polling Station, where NRM and FDC party candidates are trading allegations of attempted ballot stuffing.
in his statement, Taremwa urges both sides to exercise vigilance during the Electoral process but restrain against violence.
An un-gazetted polling station at Main Street Primary School in Jinja town was unearthed by voters earlier in the day.
EC admits there have been attempts to stuff which have not succeeded. "The copies intercepted carry serial numbers that are not ours," he says.
Despite heavy rains, voters turned up in big numbers to vote in a by-election occasioned by a court ruling nullifying Nabeta's 2016 election victory on grounds that he connived with EC to alter results at Danida A-D polling station which put him at an advantage.
The by-election has attracted eight candidates but the real contest is between NRM's Nabeta and Paul Mwiru of the Forum for Democratice Change (FDC). Other candidates include Faisal Mayemba, Francis Wakabi, Christine Monica Abuze, Paul Mugaya and Hatim Isabirye Mugendi.
