Monitors reject Rukungiri poll

The NGO Election Monitoring Group (NEMGROUP) has said the Rukungiri LC5 elections were not free and fair. The group said the elections were marred by intimidation, violence and rigging, reports Anne Mugisa.The NEMGROUP statement issued yesterday said the violence was comparatively less than in the previous election, but still had disturbing cases. The group said the malpractices were mainly in Nyakishenyi, Nyarushanje and Ruhinda sub-counties. It said candidate Athanasius Rutaroh’s supporters and agents were beaten and intimidated.“NEMGROUP-U believes that the irregularities and malpractices observed do not render this election free and fair, regardless of the election. There needs to be a concerted effort on the part of Government, the Electoral Commission and the citizenry to redeem the marred image of elections in Rukungiri and Uganda as a whole,” the statement said. The group said some presiding officers helped the voters tick the ballot papers and aided illegal voting by some candidates’ agents as well as multiple voting.The group said there were actual beating of voters in some places and some of Rutaroh's’ agents were chased away from polling stations. They said they saw agents wrestling voters to snatch ballot papers from them. NEMGROUP said there was direct interference in the voting process by government officials.