Soroti city NRM polls chaos force voting postponement

SOROTI - The National Resistance Movement (NRM) party's city elections in Soroti city east division today, May 20, 2025, descended into chaos.  As a result, the ruling party has postponed the completion of the election process to Wednesday.

The contest for the party chairperson position, which attracted six candidates: Moses Wancha, Nicholas Takan, Isaac Elakuna, Abdul Mwanika, Peter Odero and Francis Arimu, was at the centre of the controversy.

The voting process, which was held at Soroti Senior Secondary School, was marred by allegations of irregularities, including claims that unregistered members were allowed to vote.

Party registrar Justine Okello struggled to convince voters to line up behind their preferred candidates, with some accusing the registrar of being biased towards Wancha.

As tensions escalated, Police were called in to restore order. East division Police station OC Innocent Halerimana was confronted by angry supporters, with some pouring water on him and others threatening to beat him up.

The OC station east division, Innocent Halerimana, was rescued from angry people who poured water on him. (Credit: Godfrey Ojore)

After four candidates stepped down in favour of Takan and Wancha, the two candidates were invited to stand for the final round of voting.

However, Takan's team refused to participate, citing the late hour. Wancha's supporters declared him the winner with 167 votes against Takan's 166.

Before the results could be officially announced, Takan's supporters turned rowdy, forcing Okello and other election officers to be whisked away under tight security.

"Wancha is the winner, having obtained the largest number of votes, 167 against 166 for Takan," Okello declared. "We will complete the election of the three positions of vice chairperson, secretary, and secretary publicity on Wednesday."

Takan disputed the results, claiming he had 171 supporters and demanding a re-election. "A re-election must be held for a fair game," he insisted.

NRM city chairperson Willy Bisanga expressed regret over the incident, stating that he was helpless to intervene due to his own candidacy for re-election on Friday.

In a separate development, NRM mobiliser for Teso Teddy Acham conceded defeat in the secretary for publicity position to retired education officer Stephen Enou. "I pledge to continue serving my party," Acham said.