Candidates vying for the Jinja East parliamentary seat have resorted to door-to-door campaigns as they consolidate their votes ahead the March 15 polling day.
At the weekend, the NRM party senior leaders led by Justine Kasule Lumumba were seen making stopovers in different trading centres, soliciting votes for Igeme Nabeta, the party flag bearer.
Lumumba and her team were seen moving from shop to shop, convincing residents to vote Nabeta back to Parliament after the Court of Appeal in Kampala nullified his victory on grounds of falsification of election results.
In the same vein, leaders of the Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party led by Dr Kizza Besigye, party president Patrick Amuriat and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago also campaigned for Paul Mwiru, the former MP.
Other parties such as DP are also backing Mwiru and have since the campaigns started, the party leaders are also soliciting votes for Mwiru.
While there are other independent candidates in the race, including Francis Wakabi, Paul Mugaya, Faisal Mayemba, Mr Richard Henry Nyanzi, Christine Monica Abuze and Isabirye Hatim Mugendi, the tight contest is between Mwiru and Nabeta.
While soliciting for votes in fishing villages, Lumumba told fishermen to vote Nabeta if they want to continue enjoying services from the NRM government.
She argued that of all the candidates, it is only Nabeta who can reach in “the sitting room where government plans for the country”.
While campaigning in Walukuba East Ward, Nabeta advised the youth to engage in profitable activities to earn livelihoods for their families.
“If I am elected, I shall embark on household income-generating projects and creating more jobs for the youth,” he said.
Referring to earlier promises made by President Museveni, Nabeta said three new markets are to be constructed in the area to create more job opportunities. These include Walukuba West, Napier and Walukuba East.
On land issues, he assured the locals in Jinja East that NRM will not amend the Land Act as it had been proposed some time back.
What Mwiru offers
Mwiru, the FDC party flag bearer, promised health and eradicating poverty by creating more employment opportunities.
“I want to table a bill where jobs will be given on regional basis. If government has 50,000 jobs, we want northern regions to get 10,000 jobs, eastern 10,000, western 10,000 and central 10,000 as a way of creating regional balance in sharing the national cake,” he explained.
Once elected, Mwiru said he will make be mandatory for Senior Six leavers to do vocational courses for one year before they pursue their degree courses. He argued that even if they fail to secure a job, they can still survive.
According to the Electoral Commission, 28,000 people are expected to vote on Thursday.
The Jinja East parliamentary seat fell vacant after the Court of Appeal nullified Nabeta’s victory and ordered fresh elections.
