OPINION:Analysis of the Jinja Municipality East Constituency By-election

By Crispin Kaheru
CCEDU Coordinator-Kampala
The Jinja Municipality East Constituency by-election yesterday was a hotly contested one and was a mini referendum on current national political questions such as last year’s amendment of the constitution to remove age limits for presidential candidates as well as the proposed referendum to extend the tenure of Uganda’s presidency from 5 to 7 years.
Both the NRM and the opposition saw this by-election as a determinant one, based on their strategic presence on the ground.
This by-election goes down in our books of history as so far the most policed election; and one where political parties especially from the opposition exhibited strategic cohesion in canvassing and guarding the by-election vote.
Citizens remained very vigilante – but were partly destructed by the heavy down pour and possibly, this accounted for the low voter turnout levels (41%).
Under the circumstances, the Electoral Commission (EC) tried to do its best to act independently despite the over arching political interests and pressures present in this by-election.
Source: www.mknewslink.com; a western Uganda news website.
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