The Sunrise has reliably learnt that systematic buying of voters has been carried out by senior NRM politicians, especially those with ambitions of taking up the party's national as well as district leadership positions.

Numerous cases have been reported by our correspondents indicating that candidates for Secretary General of the NRM have sponsored hundreds if not thousands of candidates so that they can come as national delegates to vote for them come September when the party will be holding its national delegates conference.

The latest we got from our correspondents at district level is that since the party is to elect its district NRM councils on Monday August 3, there is a high level of bribery is underway as delegates are being hidden in hotels.

The September National Conference will choose the Party's administrative organ commonly known as the Central Executive Committee comprising the flag bearer in presidential elections, the secretary general and other key positions.

Almost through out the country, incidents of voter buying have happened whereby candidates, especially ministers and rich people, have bought off their opponents which allowed them to go through unopposed.

Observers worry that next week's district NRM elections may be a repeat of 2005 elections where top guns had to wrestle for delegates for district party positions. This was the case in Wakiso between VP Gilbert Bukenya and Eng. Ian Kyeyune. It also happened in Iganga between Kirunda Kivejinja and Asuman Kyafu. The crisis also happened in Bushenyi between Trade Minister Kahinda Otafiire against Businessman Yowasi Makaru for the post of district chairman.

As was the case with many top NRM politicians, Otafiire took way all the delegates to make it difficult for his competitor to access them.
The implications are that the party is likely fail to address the problem of non-performing people as a result of having leaders with many portfolios which makes them inefficient. For example, people like VP Gilbert Bukenya, Ministers Hope Mwesigye, Kahinda Otafiire, Amama Mbabazi, Crispus Kiyonga, have been district party chairpersons, members of parliament as well as being ministers.

The voter buying exercise has also angered villagers in many places who thought that local party positions were meant for them, only to be surprised that big shots planted people who bought their way to occupy the positions.

As a party that went to the bush because of electoral malpractices, the overt rigging has undermined NRM's credibility especially at the grassroots. blog comments powered by Disqus

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