High voter turnout in Masaka despite biometric machines glitch

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Masaka City recorded a high voter turnout on Thursday (January 15), with long queues seen as early as 7am across major polling stations despite failure of the biometric voter verification machines.

The hotspots of the city are Nyendo–Mukungwe Division and Kimaanya–Kabonera Division.

Glitches in ​biometric voter verification machines disrupted voting at several polling stations, stirring frustration among voters and election officials alike.

But a ubiquitous security presence at polling centres ensured order was maintained, as Electoral Commission officials worked to stabilise the situation.

Following the failure of the biometric system, polling officials resorted to the manual voter verification process. Voters whose names appeared on the voters’ register were allowed to vote, a move that enabled the exercise to proceed.

The Electoral Commission later confirmed that the use of the manual register was an approved fallback mechanism in the event of technical failures, urging voters and candidates to remain calm and patient.

After the biometric kits setback, political leaders who voted in Masaka called on their supporters to remain calm, maintain peace and await official results from the Electoral Commission. They also cautioned against voter intimidation, bribery and any actions that could undermine the credibility of the electoral process.

“People should remain calm, stay in the line and vote through use of the voters register. We ask them to be vigilant against electoral malpractices, and wait for the official guidance and outcomes from the Electoral Commission,” Mathias Mpuuga told journalists after voting at 11am at Kirumba Health Centre in Masaka city.

Before casting his vote, Kimanya-Kabonera incumbent Dr Abed Bwanika was briefly arrested on allegations that he had pre-ticked ballots which were later found to be a DR form. He was eventually allowed to go ahead and vote.

“We expect victory at the end of the day. We ask people to vote peacefully and remain calm, wait for the tallying in the evening. We thank the Electoral Commission for quickly switching to the manual voters register and I thank the people of Kimanya for turning up heavily," Bwanika told reporters after voting at Kisoso polling station near Kaswa trading centre at 11am.

Throughout Masaka, no case of violence had been recorded by the time of writing this story.

Ugandans are choosing their next President and Members of Parliament, and will be electing other leaders for other elective positions in subsequent weeks.