An Electoral Commission official prepares voting materials as voting got underway in Kampala
Data released at the National Tally Centre has raised concerns about inconsistencies between voter turnout for the presidential election and the Kampala Woman Member of Parliament race.
According to the Electoral Commission, about four hundred thirty thousand of approximately one point six million eligible voters cast ballots for President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala, drawn from just over two thousand three hundred polling stations out of two thousand seven hundred five.
hundred forty thousand, a difference of roughly ninety-four thousand votes. Both elections took place on the same day, with voters receiving three ballot papers each: one for president, one for a woman MP, and one for a directly elected MP.
This discrepancy suggests that nearly ninety-four thousand voters in Kampala may have voted for president but did not cast a ballot for the Woman MP.
The Electoral Commission spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi initially said he could not verify the figures. “I don’t know whether what you are saying is factual or fabrication,” he told reporters.
After receiving screenshots of the data, he suggested that some voters may have chosen to vote for one position and skip others.
“Some people can decide to vote for president only. It is possible for a voter to tick one candidate for one position and go. It is not a must that the voter must tick all the ballots. I do not have those facts. This may require auditing the figures to confirm what you’re saying. I can not confirm what you’re saying based on screenshots,” he said.
Human rights defender, Dr Livingston Ssewanyana, said the discrepancy warrants urgent clarification.
“The voters were given three ballots. It is less likely that a person would vote for the president and not vote for the Woman MP. That points to the possibility of ballot stuffing or irregularities,” he said.
Mucunguzi confirmed that an audit would be necessary to clarify the differences in turnout between the presidential and Women’s MP ballots. Unlike direct MPs, both the president and the woman MP are voted for by all eligible voters in a district, making the ninety-four thousand vote gap a serious anomaly.
The issue raises broader questions about the accuracy of election data and the integrity of the voting process in Kampala, a key political hub.
Observers are calling for the Electoral Commission to provide detailed explanations to maintain public confidence. The key questions are how did roughly ninety-four thousand voters reportedly cast a presidential vote but skip the Kampala Woman MP ballot?
