The Electoral Commission (EC) registrar of Ibanda District has refused to nominate two rivals vying for Woman MP after they both presented letters from NRM secretariat endorsing their candidature.
Jovrine Kaliisa and her main rival Jane Bainomugisha were both declared winners of the NRM party primaries after vote recount.
This website understands that Hon Kaliisa, the incumbent contested the victory of Ms Bainomugisha who had been declared winner of the primary election by the NRM returning officer on September 4.
Her victory was however, annulled by the chairman electoral commission Dr Tanga Odoi who commissioned investigations since Kaliisa claimed she had evidence exposing the irregularities.
Tanga Odoi acting on the findings of the election tribunal instituted by the President, later declared Kaliisa the duly elected Woman MP who won with 100 votes.
She was then handed the flag awaiting nomination by the Electoral Commission for 2021 elections.
However, in unprecedented shift of events, her rival Jane Bainomugisha received an endorsement from the party Secretary General Hon Lumumba Kasule who informed the EC that Bainomugisha is the approved candidate of the party.
Shockingly, the letter endorsing Ms Bainogisha was signed by the deputy NRM electoral commission chairman John Kigyagyi.
The confusion arose from who is who since the two women possessed letters of endorsement.
As the country geared for nominations on Wednesday, NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) issued resolutions in which Jane Bainomugisha was endorsed as the party flagbearer.
But the confusion remained since the letter addressed to Bainomugisha was not legitimately signed by the authorities, which rendered the document “fake.”
Hon Kaliisa who spoke to this website on Wednesday night vowed to seek nomination since she owned the genuine documents.
“I will go to the EC as the legitimate flagbearer of NRM because I have the letter from the chairman Dr Tanga Odio,” she said.
Asked whether she had been served other letters, Kaliisa said she wasn’t and therefore couldn’t comment on what “doesn’t exist.”
“I don’t know those letter, I have not seen them,” she added.
However, on Thursday Kaliisa and Bainomugisha stormed the EC at the District ready to be nominated only to be told to “sort themselves.”
The registrar said he was waiting for official communication from relevant authorities.
This website is closely following up this matter and will bring more updates.
