Voters in Lugusuulu sub-county, Sembabule District, have threatened to abandon the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and join the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) over alleged election malpractice in the recent party primaries.
The disgruntled voters accuse the NRM district electoral committee of declaring the wrong candidate as winner for the sub-county chairperson flag bearer seat, a decision they insist does not reflect the actual votes cast.
The primaries, held last Thursday, were meant to elect flag bearers for various village and sub-county leadership positions ahead of the 2026 general elections.
In Lugusuulu, Benon Burora was declared winner with 3,013 votes, defeating his rival Paul Abaho, who polled 2,907.
However, several voters rejected the outcome, claiming Burora was unfairly declared winner despite Abaho’s strong performance at many polling stations.
At Lwekisujju polling station in Kaliyala parish, for example, Abaho reportedly garnered 203 votes compared to Burora’s 8.
Yet, when the results were tallied, Burora was allegedly credited with more than 600 votes from the same station a discrepancy that infuriated voters.
The angry voters accuse some senior NRM leaders and the party registrar in the sub-county, Isaac Mbasiize, of masterminding the alleged vote rigging.
Paul Abaho, who insists the election was stolen from him, said he raised an alarm to the district electoral officials but his complaints were dismissed.
But Burora, the declared winner, dismissed the allegations, saying he won the primaries fairly.
Efforts to reach the NRM electoral commission officials in Sembabule, including Deborah Alayo and Ambassador James Kinobe, were futile as their phones went unanswered.
The Lugusuulu dispute adds to the growing wave of discontent within the NRM primaries across several districts, sparking fears that unresolved wrangles could push voters into the hands of the opposition as the 2026 elections draw closer.
