🔊 Why EC cancelled voting in 17 Lira city polling stations

LIRA - The Electoral Commission (EC) has cancelled voting in 17 polling stations in Lira City West Division after discovering that ballot papers carried mixed-up candidate images, forcing a halt to the exercise in the affected areas.

Voting in the rest of Lira city proceeded smoothly, with no major incidents reported.

The affected polls relate to the election of the third female city councillor, a seat being contested by five candidates of Junior Quarters,: Agnes Adong (Independent) Lydia Akello (UPC), Harriet Apili (Independent), Stella Asio Iwacha (Independent), and Zena Apio Opoloit.

Confirming the development, James Aggrey Ipeto, the Lira city returning officer, said the anomaly was detected on polling day.

“Today, January 22, we conducted elections for the city mayor, city councillors and the women councillors who form a third of the council. Unfortunately, in five wards we discovered that the ballot papers had mixed-up images,” Ipeto said.

“As a result, elections were not conducted in those wards. We immediately communicated to the Electoral Commission, which will set a fresh date for voting in the affected areas. In total, about 17 polling stations were involved,” he added.

Asked whether there were other challenges during the exercise, Ipeto said the process was largely peaceful and orderly.

“We did not experience any major problems. Everything went on well apart from this incident,” he said, noting, however, that voter turnout was noticeably low.

The Electoral Commission is expected to announce a new polling date for the affected stations once corrective measures are completed.