Tororo NRM LC5 flag-bearer race heats up as incumbent faces stiff competition

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With just less than 24 hours to the National Resistance Movement local government primaries, a fierce battle is brewing in Tororo district for the coveted party flag for the LC5 seat.  

Seven contenders are vying for the yellow flag, creating a high-stakes race filled with last-minute manoeuvring and rising tensions.

The contenders, include incumbent John Okea, who is seeking a second term. He faces Gerald Obbo Wandera, John Obbo, Paul Mich and John Mike Oluka, all of whom contested against him in the previous elections.  

Adding to the mix are Rodgers Peter Imailuk, former chairperson of the Tororo County Councillors: Caucus and Daglus Kapisi (Paya Sub-county).

Okea's camp is buzzing with pre-election activities.  Appointment letters are being issued to agents, and monies are being disbursed to ensure a smooth election process, ostensibly in his favour.  

"As you can see, we're ensuring that we have agents in all the polling stations across the district because with them, we're sure victory is on our side as Team Okea," the district chairperson said.

This, as he boasts of having prepared for these polls for the past three years and also claims to have exceeded the promises in his 2021-2026 manifesto. The chairman believes this gives him a significant advantage over the other candidates. 

"At least I have no reason to worry in this coming election because I knew it was coming and started preparing early. Also, you know the state at which I found this district when it was grappling with poor services, but we have improved. Now, a reason almost every voter in this district knows I am the best choice for their continued development," Okea says.

However, even with his purported early preparation, the incumbent acknowledges the substantial cost of securing his victory across the vast district.  

"I have 1,337 villages (polling stations) across the district, and in each, I have to deploy two agents for shillings 10,000 each, leaving my budget for agents alone at over 50 million. I have not counted the facilitation to the co-ordinators at parish, sub-county and constituency levels, who are also taking a relatively big budget," the chairperson said

Alliance to unseat incumbet

Meanwhile, on the other side, his challengers are co-ordinating their efforts to unseat the incumbent. They have since formed a last-minute alliance to collaborate on election day.  

"This district is very big that we can't put agents like the current chairperson and for that case, as people vying with him, we have agreed to work together in ensuring that he doesn't rig votes in any polling station because in places where I will fail to have agents, my colleagues' agents will ensure the votes are protected," revealed Gerald Obbo Wandera, one of the contenders.

John Obbo, another contender, emphasises their determination to oust the incumbent due to concerns about his leadership.  

"From our evaluation, the current district chairperson is now on the last kicks of a dying horse, because the only way he can pay for his sins of working only for his interest and not the interest of the people of Tororo is by him getting out of office and competent people who understand administration occupying it," Obbo accuses.

The recently concluded NRM parliamentary elections in Tororo, marked by delays in declaring winners, particularly for the Woman MP seat due to two separate tallying centres, have raised concerns among the candidates.

These fear that this system could compromise the integrity of the upcoming LCV polls.  

"The two tallying centres operating and handling one election in the district is putting the integrity of the outcomes in question? Because it's hard to believe that all the tallying centres will produce the true outcomes of the polls. So this is something that the party electoral commission should rectify before Thursday," stated John Mike Oluka, another contender.

With Tororo District having a total of 1,337 villages (polling stations), the effectiveness of the various strategies employed by the contenders remains uncertain.  It's a complex equation, and only time will reveal who emerges victorious in this fiercely contested race.