Residents of Kalangala District are today voting in a by-election to elect a new District Woman Member of Parliament following the death of former MP Hellen Nakimuli on February 4, just weeks after she had been re-elected to the same position.
Voting officially began at 7:00 a.m. across 115 polling stations spread throughout the district’s 84 inhabited islands on Lake Victoria.
According to the Electoral Commission, a total of 45,246 registered voters are expected to cast their ballots. Of these, 26,218 (57.94 percent) are women, while 19,028 (42.06 percent) are men.
Five candidates are contesting for the seat. They include Irene Nampala of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Idah Nabayiga of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), and three independent candidates: Sarah Babirye, Hellen Flavia Nagawa, and Agnes Nassuna.
The race is widely viewed as a two-horse contest between NRM’s Idah Nabayiga and NUP’s Irene Nampala, who is the sister of the late Hellen Nakimuli.
Electoral Commission spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi said all voting materials had been delivered to polling stations by 6:30 a.m. following an overnight transportation exercise across Lake Victoria.
“Electoral Commission staff loaded ballot boxes onto boats shortly after midnight to deliver election materials to the 115 polling stations scattered across the 84 islands that make up Kalangala District ahead of today’s by-election. Travel on Lake Victoria is generally safer at night when the waters are calmer,” Mucunguzi said.
Tension briefly arose on Tuesday when electoral materials arrived at the district headquarters and officials discovered that the seals on 17 ballot boxes did not match the accompanying documentation.
However, following guidance from Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama, the boxes were opened for verification, their contents confirmed to be intact, and new seals affixed.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting on the eve of the election, Justice Byabakama urged all participants in the electoral process to uphold the law and ensure a peaceful exercise.
He called on candidates, supporters, security agencies, and voters to promote peaceful participation and work together to guarantee a free, fair, and credible election.
