Voting is underway in Hoima for the District Woman Member of Parliament.
Some of the 143,273 registered voters queued up as early as 5am at some of the 266 polling stations to choose between Harriet Businge Mugenyi and Asinansi Nyakato.
Busingye is the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate while Nyakato, an FDC leaning candidate is backed by most of the opposition parties including Democratic Party, Forum for Democratic Change, Alliance for National Transformation as well as Robert Kyagulanyi led People Power movement.
Both hope to replace Tophas Kaahwa Byagira who early this year opted to represent Kikuube District that was curved out of Hoima District, located in the mid-western part of Uganda. The district comprises two counties, one municipality, seventeen sub-counties and 69 parishes.
What is intriguing about the the two candidates is their almost close relations.
According to a local daily, Mugenyi, belongs to the Bacwezi by clan while Nyakato is a princess. Mugenyi is married to Prince Fred Mugenyi Ruchunya, the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom’s Chief Prince who chairs the Royal clan of Babiito where Princess Nyakato belongs.
Although voting is going on smoothly, the Opposition has decried the heavy deployment of security.
On Tuesday, FDC’s spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemuju Nganda said: “We think the intention is to intimidate especially people in rural parts of the district. The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) is using the security personnel especially military and the Electoral Commission (EC) to interfere with the voting process.”
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