MUKONO – The incumbent Mukono Municipality MP Betty Bakireke Nambooze has asked all those National Unity Platform (NUP) who lost in the party’s vetting process as flag bearers to back the selected candidates instead of standing as independent in the up coming general elections.
Although this has been the case with some of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) contestants who when defeated during the primaries decided to contest as independent, Nambooze urged that they should instead support those who were successfully vetted to win the current government.
She said: “I request all those who were not successfully vetted to support the declared flag bearers instead of going to stand as independent candidates.”
She made the remarks while officially unveiling the successfully vetted candidates at the NUP Offices in Mukono district.
Nambooze also noted that the process of contesting is tedious and expensive especially for first time contestants. She said that the new directive of proper registering of the names a waste of time especially for married women who automatically take on their husbands’ name.
She said: “The cost of contesting is expensive especially paying for a lawyer, announcing in the National gazette, in news papers especially for first time candidates, yet government is paying for their candidates.”
“Let us present instead present our marriage certificates since they are also legal documents to prove that they are our names.” She suggested
Some of the party members alleged that the Electoral Commission (EC) has taken sides with the ruling government.
Abdalah Kiwanuka Mulimamayuni said that they have been refused from wearing a beret yet President Yoweri K Museveni has been wearing a hat ever since he started contesting for Presidency.
He said: “The Electoral Commission has taken sides in that they have stopped candidates from NUP from where berets on their posters yet President Museveni always wears a hat on his posters.”
Candidates that were successfully vetted are Betty B Nambooze as MP Mukono Municipality, Fred Ssimbwa as MP Nakifuma constituency, Abdalah Kiwanuka Mulimamayuni as MP Mukono North, Wilson Male as MP Mukono South, Hanifa Nabukeera for Mukono Woman MP, Robert Kabanda as LC3 Chairperson Mukono Central Division
Nkoyoyo Mukasa as Mayor Mukono Municipality among others
